Aishiteru No Justu!
by NanDeMoNai
Summary: Have you heard of the myth of the red thread? Listen carefully, for you are bound together with your true love by a thin, red thread. Can you see it? Can you feel it? [Yaoi, SasuNaru]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first attempt at a multichapter story that didn't originally spawn off one of my oneshots! I hope you guys like it, but this'll probably only be like… I don't know, three chapters? (Does that count as multichapter?) So many people want me to write longer stories, but I really prefer oneshots or twoshots, so bear with me here! Have fun, yeah. **

**Other note: "Aishiteru No Justsu" means "I Love You Technique". Don't ask me why, okay? Oh they myth that I mention in here twice, I'm not sure if it is completely correct, but it should be the general idea!**

**---**

"_Nii-san!" They young boy raced down the wooden hallway, a small spool of red thread clutched in his right hand. His black hair was plastered to his forehead from the sweat as he turned the corner precariously._

_The thread began to unwind and tie themselves around the boy's feet. Excited as he was, however, he didn't notice that at all. His mind was only concentrated on reaching his older brother, some few meters away._

"_Hey! Watch it!" a concerned but otherwise gentle voice called out. Sasuke's feet became tangled as he started to fall down. Before he came into impact with the cool wood, Itachi was able to sprint over and catch him. There was a small chuckle from the older man as he walked back to where he was sitting at, with little Sasuke in his arms._

"_Sorry, nii-san…" Sasuke looked down, ashamed of his actions. His hand tightened even more around the spool as he was set down._

"_Just calm down a bit, Sasuke…" Itachi gazed at him with gentle eyes as he began to unravel the thread from his legs. "We'll never get your kite finished if you keep tripping over stuff." He wrapped the excessive thread back onto the spool._

_His only response to that was a wide, innocent smile. "It's going to be so great, isn't it nii-san?" Sasuke rocked back and forth on the floor, holding his feet._

"_It sure is," Itachi smiled and mussed up his hair. He pulled out some thread from the spool again and showed it to Sasuke. "You want to hear a story?"_

_Sasuke's eyes widened cheerfully. "Yeah!"_

"_Okay then…" Itachi picked up the nearly finished kite that they were working on and began tying up some loose ends with the bright red thread. "Well, it's a story that I've heard from a long time ago. People say… Hey, don't touch that!"_

"_Oops…" Sasuke dropped the sharp scissors and looked back into Itachi's slightly angry eyes._

"_I don't want you to get hurt from those…" he picked up the scissors and set them next to him so that little Sasuke wouldn't mess with them again. "People say," he continued from where he was interrupted, "that everyone is bound by a red thread."_

"_Thread?" Sasuke lifted up his arm and looked around. He stood up momentarily and spun around, his head craning over his shoulder as if he was looking at something. The boy stopped looking when he heard a laugh._

"_I wasn't done yet, Sasuke! We are all bound by a red thread, but we can't see it," he explained as Sasuke plopped back down, his face slightly red with embarrassment._

"_Oh… Why are we all tied up with invisible red string, nii-san?" Sasuke peered over at Itachi's lap where the kite was sitting at._

"_Well, the string is tied to us and someone else. They say that you are bound to the one that you are destined to love. Or your 'true love', anyway," Itachi picked up the kite and put it onto the floor._

"_True love?" Sasuke watched as his older brother took up the spool of thread again and broke some off._

"_Mm-hm. You are connected with the person that you really love. You're bound by destiny, did you know?" He took Sasuke's right hand and tied the red string onto his index finger._

_Sasuke held his hand in front of his face and stared at the thread. "Nii-san, who do you think I'm bound to?"_

"_Someone that is very nice, I'm sure of it!" Itachi smiled at his little brother lovingly._

_---_

Sasuke woke up with a start. He opened his eyes but didn't sit up. Why had he dreamed of that evil man again? A turmoil of emotions churned in him. The dream had a strange feeling to it. It was a story that Itachi had told him long ago but there was something peculiar about it now. It left him feeling warm and fuzzy for just a split second.

He sat up abruptly in the dark, dry room. _Love is the greatest bond that I must break…_ he said to himself, suddenly enraged. Sasuke's blank eyes looked at his lap, since there was something there. Red thread.

The Uchiha growled loudly and yanked the thread off his lap, breaking the thread into several pieces. The small 'snap' of the string gave him pleasure as he destroyed it. Why was there even thread on his lap?

"Sasuke-kun, did you have to break that thread with such a vengeance? Now I have to measure you all over again!" Kabuto said disappointedly as he suddenly entered the room.

Sasuke threw the thread onto the floor. "Why are you here?" he asked flatly, glaring at the man.

"Orochimaru said that he wished for you to receive some new clothes. You have been wearing them down at an incredible rate with your training," he explained, pushing his glasses up a bit. "I needed your measurements again since it has been a while since the last time we needed to make new clothes for you."

The dark haired boy pointed accusingly at the scattered thread on the floor. "Why are you using red thread to measure me?"

Kabuto shrugged. "I don't remember where I left the measuring string."

Sasuke stared at him. "And why are you measuring me while I'm sleeping? Could you not do that when I'm awake?"

The older man smiled apologetically. "You know how impatient Orochimaru-sama is. My apologies to you, Sasuke-kun…"

"Hn."

---

"Aah… That was good!" Naruto strolled down the street, patting his stomach. He had just left Ichiraku and now had nothing to do. "Hm?" he spotted someone familiar on a bench in a park that he was passing by.

Little pots of ink were lined up neatly next to the boy as he touched the surface of his scroll with some ink. He was rudely interrupted when an overly hyper boy leapfrogged over his back.

"Hey, Sai!" Naruto yelled at him and landed on the other side of the bench. He spun around and grinned at him.

"Naruto…" Sai greeted more quietly, checking over his work to see if it was messed up with the random attack. He sighed in relief when he saw that it was fine.

"What are you doing?" Naruto crouched down in front of him and peered at the scroll that was in his lap. Various shapes and lines danced across the scroll.

Sai raised an eyebrow at the completely oblivious boy. He just knocked him down and didn't even care that he just scared the heck out of him? "Drawing," he replied blandly.

"… Drawing…?" he trailed off to let Sai finish.

"A story that I heard a while ago…" his eyes went a bit misty as he held the scroll out to an arm's length. He looked like he was inspecting it but it was more like he was just thinking about the story. "Well, I suppose it's more of a myth than a story…"

"Tell me it!" Naruto grinned widely and looked at Sai with an expression that creeped him out a bit.

"Er… Okay…" he corked the ink bottles again and began cleaning out his brush. "I heard that everyone is tied with a red thread…"

"Wouldn't the world be in a hopeless tangle of thread then?" Naruto interrupted.

"Uh… I don't know? But anyway, we can't see them. Don't ask me why!" Sai glared at Naruto before he could say another word. The blonde shut his mouth again indignantly. "You're tied up with the one that you are destined to love! But… I don't really know what love is, so I'm trying to draw a picture to represent it…" He sighed and looked at Naruto.

"Tied…" He stood up and his eyes cleared up again as he grinned at Sai again. "Thanks for the story, but I've better get going, Sai!" And so, just as randomly and abruptly as he came, Naruto left. "Hey, yeah, you're a bad storyteller!" he yelled at him after running a distance off.

"Wha…?" Sai looked after him and shrugged.

"Thread, huh?" Naruto chuckled to himself. Down the street he went again, his arms swinging wildly at his sides, making people veer off to the sides of the street in order not to be whacked by him. That story, however short and not very detailed as it was, made Naruto feel strangely happy.

"Eek! Come back with that! No, don't drop it!" a shrill voice screamed from somewhere in the residential houses.

Naruto looked up curiously at the sudden exclamation. A small black item came falling down above his head and hit him. "Itai!" he squeaked, rubbing his head. He bent down to pick up the item. _What is this doing here?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Second chapter is up, yay! I don't know why I'm so excited, but okay… Anyway, I'm glad so many people like the story so far, even though it doesn't seem like anything's really happening. Thanks for the support! Don't forget to review! Reviews make me happy, happy!**

---

Naruto looked at the small spool with interest and bounced it in his palm for a bit. _Red thread! What a coincidence!_

He remembered where the spool had come from and looked up again. Off a balcony up in the houses, there were two girls leaning over the edge. One was about three years younger than him and the other seemed to be a bit older.

"Nii-san! Sorry about that!" the younger girl waved and yelled down at him, her black hair falling in her face. The older one scowled at the little one. She was obviously annoyed with the way she was twisting her equally black hair in her fingers.

"It's okay!" he called back and began choosing a route to get up there. After a few quick jumps, and a bit of showing off, he reached the edge of the balcony and held out the thread to them. "Is this your's?"

The younger girl nodded vigorously and held out her hand for it. Naruto was about to give it to her when the older girl slapped the younger hands away. The blonde stared at her incredulously.

"Wha…?" he began to ask the older girl, his hand still stretched out to offer the spool back. He didn't understand why she had so harshly slapped the younger girl away. He was trying to return it to them, right?

The older girl shook her head gently and pushed it back to him. "Keep it. As an apology for dropping it on your head," she chuckled a bit as she said the last words. "My little sister is so clumsy sometimes!" She poked the younger girl playfully then looked regretfully at the spool for a second.

"I said I was sorry, nee-san…" the younger one mumbled, pulling on her older sister's dress a bit. "They're going to be mad at us…" she whispered, but still loudly enough for Naruto to hear.

"Who are?" Naruto asked before the glare that was given to the younger girl could silence her. He began to unconsciously unravel the thread and twirl it around in his fingers. It felt silken and soft, no matter how thin it was. He rubbed it absently and looked at the two of them with bright, curious eyes.

"Our parents. That thread you're holding is special," the older girl's anger faded away as she patted her little sister's head affectionately. Naruto could see the little girl sigh in relief. Her black eyes glittered as she looked the thread again, quite pleased with something.

"Special as in…?" The blonde looked down at the seemingly normal thread around his fingers.

"Have you heard of the myth of red thread?" she asked, pointing to the small spool.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I did! Just now, too. What about it?"

"Our family spins special red thread that can break those ties and bind you with another one that you love," she said mysteriously. "We've been making thread for many generations now!"

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" He stared at the thread with a newfound interest.

The girls laughed good humouredly. "No, not really… It's just something we like to say…" The younger one smiled cheerfully at him.

"Oh…" Naruto's face fell. Somehow, hearing that you could break your true love's bond and tie yourself to another person, however strange and ridiculous it sounded, made him hopeful.

"But that thread _is_ incredibly strong and hard to cut. Many people like to use it to tie up things that they don't want to lose. It's really expensive though, so our parents will get mad at us if the found out. Uh…" she stammered when she heard what she said and ran it through her head. It was ironic to give someone something expensive then say that their parents would get mad. "But one little spool won't really matter!" she hurriedly added.

The blonde nodded slowly, slightly incredulous, but oblivious enough not to question any further. "Thanks, onee-san! I really appreciate the gift." _If it's as strong as they claim, I should be able to use this during my missions too…_

He gave her his infamous grin and looked down at the street again. He nearly fell off the narrow edge of the balcony but didn't. For a moment, he just wanted to look down at the people rushing from here to there without any acknowledgement that the three of them were there.

"Onee-san?" he asked without turning his head around. "What are your names…?" he trailed off when he saw that the two of them weren't there anymore. "Huh?"

---

"Sasuke-kun, why are you so angry today? Has Kabuto upset you again?" Orochimaru hissed lightly as the two of them met in midair for a split second, their weapons sliding against each other and scraping off again.

The boy didn't make any sign that he had heard the inquiry. As they landed on the ground again, Sasuke found that he wasn't concentrating at all. Something was bugging him. Orochimaru stood there, waiting for him to make up his mind.

Suddenly a small sliver of color caught Sasuke's eye and he looked down. There was a thin thread stuck to his pants. It trailed down to the ground where it was twisted. He growled disdainfully and kicked the thread up into the air, slashing it twice angrily.

"My, my… You are in a bad mood, aren't you Sasuke-kun?" he purred, laughing softly. He sheathed his sword again. "Training will end for today. Rest up and try to sweeten your sour mood…"

Sasuke let his katana scrape the floor as he walked slowly to the wall of the room. He didn't say anything as Orochimaru glided by him and left him alone.

_Stupid thread must've stuck to me when Kabuto was taking my measurements…_ he thought bitterly to himself. He glared at the decapitated thread before sheathing his katana as well.

Usually he was in a sour mood, but today he was especially so. There was no reason to it. Or so there was no reason that Sasuke could put into words anyway.

For three years that face of his held no expression other than disgust, and occasionally, pain. But now, for the first time in three years, his expression softened into something that could barely pass and be categorized as "loving."

He crouched down next to the thread and picked up one of the pieces gingerly and held it between his index finger and thumb. He twirled it a bit, watching the end of the curled thread spin. _Bonds…_ Sasuke tightened his fist around the thread until his knuckles turned white.

_Break them._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm working at such an incredible rate, I'm scaring myself. This story just won't leave my mind alone until I write it out! Sorry for the shortness of the chapters, but I hope you guys like it anyway!**

**---**

"Hokage-sama… Don't you think we should at least wait for another few months or so?" Sakura fidgeted as she faced Tsunade.

"Yes, we tried only four months ago…" Sai chirped, trying to be helpful and persuade her to think otherwise.

"Baa-chan, even I don't think it's a good idea!" Naruto nodded vigorously. His complaint made everyone in the room stare at him incredulously. Uzumaki Naruto thinking that the mission was a bad idea?

"… Well, even Naruto thinks it's not a good idea, but we're running out of time. All of you have been training very diligently for four months now. I have faith in you that you can bring him back this time…" Tsunade leaned back in her chair and placed her arms on the armrests.

Silence enveloped the room. Sakura shook her head gently while Sai gazed outside the window with one of his fake smiles on his face. Naruto's eyes glazed over but his lips twitched into a smile.

"I'm going to get ready," he announced and left the room quickly. His teammates looked after him hopelessly.

---

"Nee-chan… I hate it when you lie to people like that…" the same girl that Naruto met yesterday was hiding at a dark corner with her older sister. They were watching as Team Kakashi slowly left Konoha's gates.

"I didn't lie that much… It was still half truth…" she mumbled, brushing her hair away from her face. "After all, that thread does bring you to the one you are bound to be with…"

"Still… Does he really have to be the victim to our _first_ experiment? Something wrong might happen…" the little girl wrung her hangs together nervously. She chewed her lips nervously.

"Trust your sister! I'm sure we did the jutsu right. Besides, he's looking for someone… I can feel it in my blood…" A faint smile danced across her face. It wasn't a sadistic one, but a smile that held hope and well wishes.

"It was forbidden for a reason though, nee-chan…" the young girl looked up at her sister with bright eyes.

"Yes… It was, but that's only because it was so hard to make. And was only half finished, but we completed it, remember?" the older one reassured her. She patted her younger sister on the head.

"But we're not sure if we did it right…" she mumbled, still worrying over the older boy.

"Look… They're leaving. Come on, we need to activate the jutsu," she looked at the team who were chattering idly.

"Aishiteru no Jutsu!" the both whispered and activated the forbidden hand seals. Inside his kunai pouch, Naruto's red thread glowed but no one noticed. Both girls peered around the corner just in time to see the team disappear below the hill.

"Nee-san, why does the jutsu have such a peculiar name?"

"I wasn't the one who made it up… Don't ask me!" she laughed. After a few seconds she whispered, "Good luck…"

---

"Sasuke-kun, we'll be leaving again in three days. Get ready, okay?" Kabuto stuck his head into the room momentarily to announce the news. It was bothersome to have to move around every week, but it was necessary to do so, so that they would not be discovered.

The dark haired boy nodded curtly and turned away from the door again. _Something's going to happen…_ Sasuke shuddered at his sudden premonition.

His eyes suddenly turned red as his Sharingan bled into them. Why was he activating it all of a sudden? Emotions purged from him. Emotions that have not surfaced from him for three years. Something was wrong.

He clutched at his thin bed sheets until the weak cloth tore under his vicious grip. His canines glimmered in the weak candle light as he growled softly. Sasuke lowered his head so that his hair obscured his face.

What was happening now… Itachi was to be killed, but he wasn't strong enough. The day when Orochimaru would transfer his soul into his body was nearing so quickly. But what was wrong?

It wasn't fear that he would lose himself. The fear that he might die. The fear that he might never kill Itachi. It wasn't the fear of anything. It was the strangely sick feeling of anticipation. What was he waiting for?

"_Someone that is very nice, I'm sure of it!"_

Itachi's smiling face resurfaced into his mind. It shattered like glass and replaced it was the loathsome face of the true Itachi. The face splattered with the blood of his own kin. That mocking smile, that merciless stare, that superior aurora.

_Bonds… _he repeated to himself. He chanted that in his mind. His fists clenched again. _Break them, break them!_

Sasuke closed his eyes calmly and his hands spread onto the hard bed again. _I'm waiting… So I may break the bonds…_

His hollow laughter echoed through his small room. The candle flickered as its wick burned low. Small crackling sounds emitted from it until it finally burned out and white wisps of smoke swirled around it.


	4. Chapter 4

It took them two days to reach their destination. Two days. Two days of bickering with each other, driving Yamato crazy, watching Sai get punched in the face by an enraged Sakura, peace making between each other, and trying not to reveal themselves. Two days.

"Okay, everyone… We understand the plan, correct?" Yamato asked the three of them quietly as they hid in the brush. His jaw tightened with anticipation when they all nodded. He raised his hand and waved forward. All four of them darted toward the underground building stealthily.

They all looked around cautiously before entering the building. No traps. They were puzzled at the unarmed entry. Yamato shrugged a bit but went on, his senses on overload to pick up any small whisper, creak, sigh, or sound at all.

Blue eyes sparkled with hope, dark ones looked around blankly, and green ones were set with a defiant expression. Naruto reached for a kunai in his bag but when he pulled it out, the spool of thread fell out as well.

"Shoot," he muttered and pointed to it momentarily before quickly running after it, sending a shadow replacement in front of him first. Yamato and the others were too slow in stopping him, so they followed him instead.

Naruto cursed softly when he accidentally kicked the rolling spool as he bent down to pick it up. It went flying around a corner. The thread had not begun to unravel yet, but it was near to doing so. Occasionally, the boy would look up to see if anyone was in front of him, or if there were any traps, but seeing none, he continued the pursue.

"He's still such a reckless idiot," Sakura muttered under her breath. In reality, she was worried about him. What if he got hurt? He was running so quickly, too quickly, she thought, for them to keep up. How could a spool even roll that fast anyway?

Suddenly the spool rolled into a small circular room. The thread was snagged onto one of the sharp jutting rocks from the ground. "Itai…" Naruto murmured softly and watched silently as the spool continued it's crazy trip. Where was the momentum coming from?

He released his replacement and chased after the spool again, warily listening for any other person in the room. Finally, the spool stopped as it hit the wall, quite a bit of its length strewed on the barren floor. Suddenly a large rock skidded on the surface and jammed the spool into the wall, stretching the thread taut.

Naruto, at the same time the rock came flying by, pulled the spool out and fell backwards. The thread broke and he sat on the floor with the spool held tightly in his hand. What was that?

His eyes wandered up and he saw a familiar shadow looming over him. That's right, wasn't it? The first time they saw four months ago after a three year absence was in a similar circular room as well. Except this time, the top wasn't blown apart. There was a strange ledge where he was standing at.

"I've been waiting…"

Naruto skittered back at the cold voice. He looked down and discovered that, either by trick of light or bad eyesight, that the red thread had disappeared.

"Naruto-kun!" he glanced at the doorway where he had ran in from. Sakura, Sai, and Yamato stood there with hard expressions on their faces. The second time. They will bring him back.

"Oh, is this our goodbye party again? How nice…" the voice turned into a hissing laugh at the end. Orochimaru and Kabuto materialized next to Sasuke. "But I'm afraid we don't have any tea and sweets for our guests today… We mustn't show such rudeness, should we, Kabuto?"

Their sick joke continued. "No, Orochimaru-sama… Perhaps killing them will remove our shamefulness…" his glasses reflected light and gave them an ominous glow. His teeth glinted in the dim lighting.

"Go…" Yamato whispered quietly, but the room was silent enough for the whisper to be loud and irritating. Sai and Sakura sprung into action and Naruto picked himself up hurriedly, the spool still in his hands.

"Red thread, Naruto… I've been seeing that a lot lately…" Sasuke, again with his speed, appeared in front of Naruto, his katana already unsheathed and ready. "It irritates me so much…"

The blonde backed up from the cold voice that rang through the room. Mingling with his emotionless voice were the sounds of fighting. Shurikens fell and clattered to the floor, screams and grunts echoed past the walls, and already the sickeningly sweet smell of blood began to fill the room. It wasn't even fifteen minutes yet. This would be a bad battle.

"So… much…" he repeated with a strange glint in his eyes. He leapt at Naruto and swung the katana in front of him. Naruto was nearly cleaved in half when he brought up a kunai and blocked the attack.

He saw Sasuke's eyes flash with anger when he realized that their strength was nearly the same. His strength increased a bit as they backed off, staring at each other with strange gazes.

Sasuke had a sadistic look in his eyes but his face was blank. Naruto's face was twisted in something between regret and anger. They charged at each other again, ignoring the other two fights around them. Yamato against Orochimaru. Sai and Sakura against Kabuto.

The entire world swirled around them as they fought, no mercy. Nothing. Their visions locked onto each other as red eyes clashed with blue ones. Each punch was blocked, each slash was avoided, no blood was shed in this battle. Yet.

By instinct, halfway through the battle, Naruto began unconsciously unraveling what was left of the thread with his left hand. Sasuke watched him as he began to unroll the thread. He tried to hit him but was unable to with Naruto's strange feline reflexes.

Naruto threw the spool up into the air, the rest of the thread loosely wrapped around his hand. Sasuke nonchalantly slashed it in half, but that small time interval was enough for Naruto to push Sasuke back and loop the thread around him.

Sasuke tripped over something. He glanced down to see a taut red thread pulled from the doorway to the wall. Naruto's aim wasn't perfect and Sasuke's left arm was still left unbound. In an attempt to break the fall, Sasuke stuck out his hand behind him.

His face twisted into momentary pain when he felt his wrist shatter from the impact with the floor. _Thread be hanged!_ The ridiculous saying rang through his head as Naruto stood above him, grinning triumphantly, red thread pulled up with his left hand.

Somewhere from above, a free flying piece of rock flew down, and stupid and oblivious as Naruto was, he didn't avoid it in time and fell down on his face promptly. The thread was now intertwined between his fingers and around Sasuke's body.

Now, in this type of situation, a sensible person would take his katana and decapitate his opponent, but Sasuke, being very insensible right now because of the red thread that infuriated him so much, began wriggling out of the wrap. His katana, a few inches away from his hand, suddenly found itself hacking away at a seemingly flimsy thread.

Sasuke was even madder when he found that the stupid thread wouldn't cut. He slashed at it again and again, but it didn't work. Suddenly, it just disappeared all together. He growled loudly and looked around, but the thread wasn't there anymore.

"Sasuke-kun… What are you doing?" Sakura loomed over him ominously. Sasuke looked around the room to see that Yamato's clones were distracting both Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"Dang it… That piece of rock that I dislodged hit Naruto…" Sai flounced down and crouched next to the unconscious boy. He grimaced when he saw the free flowing blood gushing from the wound.

"You two! Take them and go! Follow the plan. If I don't appear in five minutes, take them to Destination B!" Yamato called out while trying to avoid a slash from Orochimaru.

Sai and Sakura nodded. The Uchiha eyed Sakura darkly when she stepped on his arm and took something out of her kunai pocket. Suddenly she stabbed a needle into his arm. Within a few seconds, he lost control over his body. He was paralyzed but he was still fully conscious.

His head lolled around when Sai picked him up and roughly slung him over his shoulder. He could see Sakura's shadow as she picked up Naruto and looked back nervously at their sensei.

Wind rushed past them as they began to run out of the room. A kunai embedded itself into the wall centimeters away from them as they went out.

"Sasuke-kuun, will come back, ssurely…" he heard Orochimaru hiss manically as metal clashed again.

---

"Tch… Idiot, wake up," Sakura poked Naruto's head after she was done dealing with his injuries.

"Nnrgh…" his eyes rolled when he struggled up. "We're in Part 2 already?" he slurred slightly.

Sakura nodded at him and walked over to the immobile Sasuke. She tsked at him and healed his wrist, but her expression did not hold the softness it once had. She glared at him and her voice had an uncomfortable edge when she spoke to him. "Don't try to move. You'll only waste chakra and you'll die if you struggle against the medicine too much. It'll wear away in three days…"

Sai stood above all of them, his eyes straining through the dimming light to see if Yamato was coming toward them. "We have forty-five seconds left," he said flatly, turning around to see his comrades and their captive. Naruto and Sakura nodded grimly and started to stand up.

"He's coming…" Sai informed them. Sasuke could faintly feel himself being lifted up by Naruto.

"Go… We have to hurry, we only have about three minutes to get out of here before they catch up. Destination C!" Yamato immediately commanded them. He was clutching his right shoulder tightly. It swung about freely but he didn't seem to care.

Sakura eyed his profusely bleeding wound, but she knew she couldn't heal him until they were at their destination. They darted in the trees and frantically began their escape.

After a while, all four of them stopped. Naruto practically threw Sasuke's limp body onto the ground and turned his head away so that he couldn't see anything. Cold eyes stared back into his own blank ones before Naruto walked away briskly.

He could hear some soft murmuring but nothing that he could decipher. The presence of another person told him that they weren't alone though. He assumed that "Destination C", whatever that meant, was here since the four of them no longer looked so panicky.

His head was turned back so that he was facing the sky after a while. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as the four of them prepared to sleep for the night. They were deadly silent though.

Soon the sky was dark, but a blazing fire kept the shadows away. Sasuke had a blanket draped over him now and was moved closer to the fire.

"I'll keep first watch," Sai offered to the other three. Everyone nodded tiredly. Sasuke watched them silently as they tucked themselves into sleeping bags. Sakura and Yamato were sleeping on opposite sides of the fire while Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto were all jammed on one side.

Sasuke was silent for two reasons. One, because he simply didn't want to talk and two, because he _couldn't_ talk. The drug that Sakura oh-so-gently stabbed into him made him lose all muscle control except for his eyes.

It wasn't long before everyone fell asleep. Yamato and Sakura had lost a lot of blood during their battles. Sai had as well, but he was still forcing himself awake in order to protect them. Naruto… Well, he just sort of knocked out just because.

Sasuke was still awake hours after the others had fallen asleep. He was incredibly indignant that he was just caught by them in such a casual way. Where were Orochimaru and Kabuto? Weren't they supposed to be here already?

The trees rustled as a soft breeze passed through the area, making the fire crackle merrily. Sai suddenly shifted so that he was facing the fire, Sasuke, and Naruto. The Uchiha's eyes stared at the pale, emotionless face carefully. The light of the fire danced off his dark eyes as he gazed at Naruto. Suddenly his stare darted onto Sasuke's face. He didn't look away.

Sasuke could feel him scrutinizing every detail on his face. He didn't feel uncomfortable, being studied like that, but the feeling of wanting to kill Sai did come up a few times.

Sai's soft voice broke the silence. "Naruto… I think I understand why you are willing to sacrifice so much and go through so much for Sasuke…" Sasuke listened indifferently. Whatever he was talking about wasn't important.

Naruto shifted in his sleeping bag. "… Stupid… idiot…" he muttered in his sleep. "Sasuke… teme…" Sai smiled genuinely at the sleeping figure and stuck his hand out to ruffle up the blonde hair before turning away again.

Anger flared up in Sasuke's eyes. He hadn't been called that in such a long time, but instead of feeling happy he was furious. There wasn't anything he could do though, immobilized right now. So instead, he watched as Sai pulled out a long scroll and several pots of ink.

The scroll was unrolled but Sasuke couldn't see what was on it, since Sai was obscuring most of it. There was a small 'pop' when Sai gently uncorked one of the pots and dipped a clean brush into it. The tip came out red when he drew it out again.

Sasuke's eyes followed his arm as Sai brushed the ink onto the scroll. The movement reminded Sasuke of a red thread.

That's right… What ever happened to that stupid red thread anyway? Wasn't it wrapped on his body and around Naruto's hands? Then it just disappeared, didn't it? Sasuke wanted to tighten his jaw in annoyance, but couldn't. The myth resurfaced in his mind again and anger broiled within.

His breathing quickened as he became more infuriated. Sai made no sign that he could hear Sasuke's labored breathing. If he could have, Sasuke would have gritted his teeth but instead he just clenched his eyes shut and fell into fitful sleep. They wouldn't dare to do anything with him anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Whoops, I forgot to add an Author's Note in the last chapter! Not like anyone actually reads it or anything, but it's fun writing one out. Anyway, I'm trying to make the chapters reasonably long, but I just can't seem to get the next chapter from coming out too quickly. If I had the time, this story would be done and over with already! Enjoy!**

---

Sasuke nervously woke up when he felt the presence of someone staring at him. His eyes opened, the only muscles he could control right now. Blue ones, devoid of feelings, looked back at his own. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance but couldn't protest when Naruto wordlessly threw him over his shoulders and walked away.

"He's ready," Naruto muttered to the other three, which Sasuke could not see right now. He felt Naruto nod curtly then jump onto a tree. They were rushing somewhere again, but not with the fear of being chased anymore.

Several hours passed with not a word being said. The atmosphere was grim. Suddenly soft rustling of leaves came from around them. The four of them didn't stop. From a shaky view, out of his peripheral vision, Sasuke saw two blurs dart out from the trees. The strong heavy metallic grew stronger when the second person joined their group.

"Well?" Yamato asked quietly to one of them. There was no response. No response that Sasuke could see from his place anyway.

Sasuke suddenly felt them slow down after more hours of running. The sun was setting again. Wind rushed past his ears as he was, once again, thrown onto the floor.

"Naruto… It isn't necessary to toss him down like that," a female voice said icily. It was a voice he hadn't heard in an incredibly long time. He wanted to twitch away from Naruto's cold hands when he touched him, but he wasn't able to. He felt his head being twisted up so that he was facing everyone.

Orange clouds dusted the endless stretch of air above them. The sky was stained pink. With what though? Tears of blood?

_Tsunade, Jiraiya Yamato, Naruto, Sai, Sakura_, he listed out. How long has it been since he last saw them all?

In the dim twilight, it was hard to tell if it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, but he doubted that his superb eyesight would betray him. Tsunade's clothing and face was splattered with blood. No. Not just Tsunade. Everyone was. Everyone was stained with blood, fresh and old.

Whose were they? The blood… _What a rhetorical question_, he told himself. It wasn't his, for sure. The blood…

Jiraiya's eyes looked down distastefully at Sasuke. He narrowed them. "The Legendary Sannin…" he said quietly, but loud enough for them to hear.

Tsunade visibly twitched when he said that. "That is no more," Tsunade said gruffly. Her eyes closed and her hands clenched as she said those words.

_I was right, _Sasuke mused without even the slightest pang of feeling.

Tsunade opened her eyes again. "We'll have to rest for today. Tomorrow we will reach Konoha, and the medicine will have worn off by then…"

---

"What do you mean he hasn't eaten or drank anything for the past two days? He's going to die without any nutrition or dehydration!" Tsunade's voice broke through the door and rang through his ears.

_Dang it,_ Sasuke cursed, eyeing Naruto and two ANBU members testily. After death glaring them for two seconds, Sasuke turned his head back to the window.

"Tsunade-sama, he doesn't let anyone near him. If we do get near him, he starts releasing chakra so quickly that he might die…" Sakura replied quietly, but her voice still seeped through the door's small cracks.

"Then hit him on the head and knock him out or something!" the Hokage's voice snarled. A second later. "I was joking, Sakura… Stop looking at me like that…"

Suddenly the door slid open, slamming against the wall and crashing noisily. Sasuke didn't even turn his head to acknowledge her.

His hands, feet, and neck were chained to the bed so that he could move, but not comfortably. They were special chains that were made to absorb chakra. While they held him in place and prevented him from escaping, it was also incredibly easy for him to commit suicide by releasing large amounts of chakra.

"Eat," she demanded him, completely ignoring the other three who were in the room. Sakura trailed in with her. She was holding platter of food and water. Tsunade kept a short distance away from him.

They stood there for several tense seconds before Tsunade's lips twisted into a psychotic smile of a maniac. Her temper was shorter than ever for the past few days. She rolled up her sleeves as a vein pulsed on the side of her forehead.

"Tsunade-sama! You said you were kidding!" Sakura shoved the platter to Naruto and pulled the Hokage back from the bed. Naruto looked down at the platter dully then at Sasuke's head.

The two of them yelled and argued noisily in the room, Sakura trying to keep Tsunade from ripping Sasuke's stubborn head off. Behind their masks, the ANBU watched indifferently. They didn't move from their posts. It wasn't their mission to keep Sasuke alive. Their mission was to keep him inside of Konoha. That was it.

Naruto's face clouded over with an unnamed emotion. "Tsunade-sama… Sakura-chan…" he said quietly, still holding the somewhat messy platter. He looked up, a smile on his face. A fake one. A too cheerful, fake smile.

Immediately the two stopped struggling and looked at him quietly. Naruto didn't change much even after three years. He still used his smiles to conceal his worries. He still laughed when he really wanted to cry. He glared when he wanted to look at someone kindly. He didn't reveal his true emotions so much, but hid them away so that no one would worry about him.

But Tsunade and Sakura knew him long enough that his heart was hurting badly right now, even with that sweet smile on his face. Even with that fake sparkle and glow in his eyes.

"Could you step out for a moment please?" he requested softly, his smile beginning to dissolve so that his lips only twitched as his facial muscles began to tire.

The two of them nodded and left quietly, glancing over their shoulders nervously. Naruto looked at the two ANBU members as well.

"Might I request that you leave as well? I won't do anything to him. I only want a little time with him alone…" he said to them. The two of them looked at each other wordlessly before deciding that it was safe enough to be standing outside the door. Surrounding the Konoha Hospital were dozens of ANBU members anyway.

They nodded briskly and followed Tsunade and Sakura out, sliding the door close behind them. Naruto bowed politely at them as they left, carefully balancing the platter in his hands.

"Teme… Look at me. Eat," he shoved the platter at Sasuke's face when he turned around slowly, the chains clattering together loudly. Sasuke's eyes looked at him blankly but he didn't take the platter.

Naruto's expression hardened as he pulled up a chair next to the bed and picked up a spoon. He took a small spoonful of the rice up and pressed it against Sasuke's dry lips. They didn't open. They didn't open even when he pressed harder. A loud huff came from Naruto's nostrils.

Still holding the spoon, Naruto set down the platter on the nightstand and grabbed Sasuke's cheeks with his left hand, trying to force his mouth to open. The Uchiha wasn't excepting Naruto to do that so there was nothing he could do about it except for to clamp down on his mouth even harder, a low growl forming in his throat.

When Naruto realized that the idiot would not cooperate with him, he tossed the spoon back into the bowl and threw himself back onto the chair, making it scrape against the floor and emit a loud screech.

Highly contrasting eyes glared at each other for many minutes, silence stretching over the room. Naruto lowered his eyes all of a sudden. Sasuke watched as Naruto tiredly reached out for the glass of water that was supposed to be his.

"Idiot…" Naruto muttered, looking at the glass of water in his hands and looked up, his eyes glittering with some sort of emotion that Sasuke had long forgotten about. The only emotions he had been exposed to for three years were limited to anger and bloodthirstiness.

He blinked lazily when Naruto took a long sip from the cup and set the cup back down. Sasuke turned his head away again. He didn't turn back when he heard soft rustling sounds from where Naruto was sitting at.

---

Sakura, Tusnade, and the two ANBU members waited outside the room patiently. Naruto was in there to watch over Sasuke since his strength was equal to his Sasuke's strength. Actually, he was backup if the ANBU members failed in doing their mission…

Tsunade's flash fire anger faded away the moment they stepped outside. Sakura looked at the Hokage sadly. It was only two days after that incident.

"Legendary Sanin, huh?" Tsunade murmured quietly, leaning on the outside wall with her arms crossed. She looked at the ceiling but from the way her eyes were glazed over, Sakura could tell that she wasn't really looking at it at all.

Tsunade blinked and looked down at her hands. "Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade," she listed out. "The Legendary Sanin, no longer…" her eyes closed halfway with sadness. "Even though he was evil, it is still hard to kill your previous teammate… Comrade… Friend…"

Sakura stood in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling lightly. "Tsunade-sama… It had to be done…"

Tsunade suddenly adopted a false smile for her face as well. "Sakura-chan, I hope you'll never have to do what I had to do just two days ago!" And with that she swept out of the hallway and left Sakura looking at her turned back with the ANBU members.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm such an idiot! I really should just drag this out for as long as possible and make you guys scream at me to update so that you won't be kept in the dark any longer, but I like writing this so much that I just want to keep updating and writing! Enjoy!**

---

Cold metal pressed against his neck at the same time as warm fingers brushed over his skin. Sasuke opened his mouth indignantly since he was being choked like that all of a sudden. He turned his head abruptly to scream at the idiot whose name was 'Naruto' but the curses never fell from his lips. Rather, they were swallowed. By him.

Naruto's eyes blazed angrily as he crushed his lips onto Sasuke's mouth. Warm water rushed into the Uchiha's mouth and he nearly choked on the liquid, but throat muscles automatically swallowed the water that his body needed so badly. After two days without drinking, the water was strangely sweet against his tongue.

Water dribbled down the side of Naruto's mouth when he pulled back angrily. Sasuke coughed and wiped his mouth furiously with his sleeve. His eyebrows angled in as he glared at the idiot.

"Eat or I'll shove the food down your throat…" he threatened, swiping the water off his chin. "And it won't be with the spoon either," the blonde growled vehemently.

Sasuke grudgingly took hold of the platter when it was offered to him a second time and clenched the spoon in his hand as if it would kill him if he held it any less tightly. He shoved food in his mouth and barely chewed before swallowing.

Naruto sat back into the chair and watched him as he ate, making sure that every grain of rice went down his throat. His expression changed into one of blankness when he heard the door slide open again. Sakura's pink hair bobbed into view.

"Oh… You got him to eat, Naruto!" she chirped cheerfully. Sai shoved her in and walked in as well. Sakura death glared the boy but didn't say anything as she straightened out again and walked over to the bed. "Tsunade-sama… Had to leave," she reported quietly.

Naruto nodded at the news and bowed his head at Sai who stood there uncomfortably. He didn't really feel like he belonged there, but it would be rude if he didn't visit Sasuke, he knew.

After Sasuke finished eating, Sakura briskly took the platter away and left the room to put it away. The two ANBU members politely stood outside, only taking frequent glances inside to make sure that Sasuke was still inside.

Sai, Naruto, and Sasuke sat in the silence again. The Uchiha lifted his head and looked at Sai strangely. What was that he was talking about the other day?

"_Naruto… I think I understand why you are willing to sacrifice so much and go through so much for Sasuke…"_

His lips twitched slightly when he saw Sai walk over to Naruto and put his hand on his shoulder. "It's late," he indicated to the sky outside. Indeed it was. The sky was already painted with dark hues of blue and purple.

Naruto tiredly nodded and stood up with Sai. Sasuke watched them leave silently.

"Ah, Sakura-chan… We're going for tonight. Sirs, please take care of Sasuke and make sure he doesn't leave, please?" he heard Naruto's voice from the still open door. His dark eyes glowed in the dark as the two ANBU members resumed their positions.

---

It has been three weeks. Yes, that should be about right. Three weeks since they captured Sasuke back. Two weeks since Tsunade decided that Sasuke "had no place to run away to" so that there "was no more reason to have ANBU members watch over his every move" and that "Naruto would suffice in watching him." Yes, that should be correct as well.

So for the past week, poor Naruto was forced to be with Sasuke every waking, and sleeping, moment with him. He stalked him home sulkily, waited for him outside the bathroom door, sleepily watched over him as Sasuke tried to sleep with an angry Naruto looming over him, glared at him until he ate his food, and completed missions with him.

Team Seven was now composed of four of them. Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and Sakura. Sai, though he had already completed his mission of filling in Sasuke spot while he was away, was kept in the team due to high demands from Sakura and Naruto, who had begged Tsunade to let him stay with the team. And so Team Seven turned from a three man team into a four man team.

During the time Sasuke hung out with them, he scarcely said anything at all. Just an occasional "Hn," or "Tch," every now and again when he was asked something. He felt inconspicuously out of place when he was around his former teammates and that weird pervert of a boy.

Even Sai, who was frequently sent flying away with one of Sakura's frightening punches because he called her a "hag" for the umpteenth time, was able to bond with the two of them. They joked and played around a lot, occasionally leaving Sasuke out of their conversations. It wasn't like they purposefully left him out. It was just that he never joined even when he was invited in it.

One of these days, one of them would become fed up with Mr. Uchiha Sasuke's stuck up personality. And so, one day, one of them did become fed up.

"Teme!" Naruto snapped at Sasuke as they walked back from the training grounds. Yep, there was Naruto, still grudgingly completing his long drawn out mission of following Sasuke's every step. "Talk to me, teme!"

Sasuke continued walking without acknowledgement of the annoying boy who trailed him everywhere. He silently shuffled down the nearly empty streets. Dying warmth from the sleepy sun bathed over them, stretching their shadows out in front of them.

The Uchiha was rudely stopped with a growl and a pull on the shoulder. He flinched when he was screamed at by Naruto.

"Look, idiot. Everyone in Konoha worried about you when you left. Everyone in Konoha wanted to try and bring you back during your absence. For three years, everyone trained hard to try and bring you back," Naruto's eyes glittered like hot coals in the fire as he spoke heatedly. "Now you're back. You've been accepted back to this village without question. Without punishment. You're still treated the same by everyone. Girls still chase after you. Guys still admire you as one of the smartest geniuses around. You weren't even slapped on the cheek for betraying us!"

Sasuke jerked his shoulder away when Naruto's grip became painful. He turned away from him again and continued walking. He didn't need to be lectured by an idiot like him. And especially not in the middle of a road. He didn't stop when he didn't hear Naruto's footsteps, which were supposed to echo each of his own.

"What more do you want, teme?" Naruto asked quietly at him, his head down and his hands clenched at his sides loosely. "You have everything now… What more do you want?"

The dark haired boy stopped in his tracks but didn't look back.

Their shadows continued to lengthen and twist out of shape as the sun steadily fell from its place in the sky and disappeared all together. People looked at them strangely as they walked back to their homes or to run late errands. Two stones within a river with everyone going around them.

How long have they been standing there? They stood there stubbornly until the moon came out to greet them.

Sasuke's joints cracked as he moved stiffly and turned around at Naruto, who was still staring at the ground with empty eyes. His lips were dry and split as they slanted slightly into a sort of smirk.

Blonde hair fell away from his face as he looked up. Naruto's eyes looked strangely like a dying fire. Small embers vainly tried to leap from it but died instantly, leaving his eyes dull and blank. His eyes sparked awake again when a figure quietly landed next to him.

"Naruto, what are you doing here? You two will catch a cold or worst," Sai began to wave an unrolled scroll around to allow the ink to dry. His speech was diluted by the brush that was between his teeth.

"It's… still that picture you're trying to draw?" Naruto's voice broke a bit as he spoke again after that outburst just a few hours ago.

Sai's eyes darted to Sasuke but he dismissed him quickly and rolled up the scroll again. "Yeah. I keep messing up and wasting my red ink. It just doesn't seem to capture that feeling, whatever it is…" he shrugged and his lips went into a lopsided line of displeasure.

"Excuse us, Sai, we need to get going now…" Naruto's eyes died again when he realized they couldn't spend eternity standing there.

The boy smiled genuinely at his teammate and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I understand." He waved cheerily at them as Naruto began to walk past Sasuke. Sai stopped when he saw the Uchiha look at him curiously. It was that same look he had when he had first visited him in the hospital.

He smiled again, but he couldn't muster up a true smile, so instead he plastered a fake on in place, hoping that he wouldn't notice. His false smile faded into a frown when Sasuke turned away slowly and followed Naruto.

They both looked drained and lifeless.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry, this chapter is more confusing than the rest. The first part that you read, the first four paragraphs, is a sneak peek at the future. Nearing then end of the chapter, there are a few places that are chopped up and the points of views focus on the two mysterious girls again. Sorry if this becomes too frustrating to understand. Wahaha, I'm insane writing so much right now!**

**---**

_Curses…_

Sasuke continued to run. No. He couldn't run. There wasn't anywhere to run. He clutched at his stomach, his breathing growing more and more heavy.

Besides, he had been waiting for this all this time, right? No, he couldn't run. But it hurt. What if he continued to face this monster? Would he ever live to see another day?

That day… It was only a few months ago, wasn't it? That day…

---

"You."

"What?" Naruto bolted up from the wall where he had fallen asleep at. He rubbed his eyes and looked up.

"You." Sasuke repeated in the same flat tone.

"Exactly, teme!" Naruto's voice immediately raised an octave higher and louder. "What are you talking about this early in the morning?"

"Tch…" the Uchiha shook his head and leapt off his bed and sulked over to the bathroom.

Naruto's eyes brightened a bit. "Hey. Hey! You talked to me, you stupid idiot, come back here!" He stopped in front of the bathroom door and stuck his tongue out at it.

---

"Hehe, Naruto! What's up with your face? You look so irritated today!" Sakura waved at the two of them. Naruto ran ahead of Sasuke, leaving him behind by himself. He watched as Sai crowded around him as well, chattering with him animatedly.

Sasuke looked down at his right hand. Nothing. He clenched it shut again and walked over to the three of them. Sakura smiled at him brightly. It wasn't the same smile. No, it wasn't the same head-over-heels-in-love-with-you smile. It was just a smile. And Sai? All this time he never did truly _smile_ at him.

"Nah, I'm… fine, Sakura-chan…" Naruto's hesitation made it clear to her that he wasn't 'fine' at all but she pretended not to notice.

"Come on. We still have another hour and a half at the least before Kakashi-sensei shows up," she took his arm and dragged him onto the bridge where they always waited at. Suddenly she stopped, let go of Naruto's arm and went back to Sasuke. "You too!" she yanked him over to the bridge.

All of them assumed their positions again. Sasuke leaning over the railing, Naruto looking at Sakura with his arms behind his head, Sakura with her elbows on the railing next to Sasuke, and Sai standing next to Naruto with his arms crossed slightly. It was a daily ritual that they all grew used to.

Kakashi, as expected, arrived an hour and a half later. He never got past the first three words of his excuse before Sakura and Naruto cut him off. Sasuke glanced at them quietly while Sai stood there with a small, but real, smile on his face.

Sasuke watched as Sai smiled again. Why was it that he could summon up such a small but genuine smile for _them_ but never one for him? His eyes dropped and he stood there with his arms hanging limply at his sides.

The image of Sai affectionately patting Naruto's head fluttered into his mind. He couldn't forget that expression he held. Such gentleness and caring that was held in those eyes as he sat there with the fire crackling merrily.

How had Naruto been before all of this? Sasuke tried to remember. Hyper, loud, easily irritated, stupid… And now? Unusually quiet, still loud at times, easily angered, but still stupid. But most of the time he looked dead and lifeless. Was it because of him?

Was it because of him that Naruto's eyes lost all life and emotion? Was it? Sasuke turned his head away from the noisy group in front of him and stared at the river that flowed endlessly.

"Sasuke-san…" Sai called out softly. Sasuke didn't even have to look back to see who called him. No one in that group said his name with such a suffix. "We're going now…"

Sasuke nodded and trailed after them.

---

Sasuke silently placed a plate onto the table in front of Naruto. Unlike this morning, when he had been with Sai and Sakura, he was an empty shell. A shell with no life. Sasuke froze when Naruto looked up at him with such large, innocent eyes.

The Uchiha blinked and tore away from that gaze. He took his seat and looked at his bowl of rice. It was his fault that Naruto was so listless, right?

"Itadakimasu…" Naruto murmured. Sasuke echoed him a split second later. The only sound that filled the kitchen was the clinking of chopsticks against plates. It was his fault that Naruto had to follow him around and watch his every move…

Silent, grim minutes passed them before Sasuke picked up his bowl and pushed away from the table, leaving Naruto sitting there poking at his food quietly. There was the sound of running water and Sasuke returned to his seat. His tired eyes looked at Naruto.

Naruto's ears perked up when he heard a soft hissing sound come from Sasuke. "I beg your pardon?" the blonde asked politely. It was his fault that Naruto was so formal and unhappy right now…

"I'm sorry," Sasuke repeated louder this time, his eyes not wavering from the stare.

A small humorless smile graced Naruto's face and he set down his chopsticks next to his nearly full bowl. His head tilted slightly and his lips parted a bit. "For what, Sasuke?"

It scared him. It scared Sasuke so much. Wasn't it him, for three years, that hadn't revealed a single emotion? Not a single one, save pain? Yes, was it not him that had long forgotten any other emotion besides the want to kill? But what was this thing in his chest now? The remembering of feeling?

"For _what_?" Naruto asked more angrily after Sasuke didn't reply for a long time. His eyes sparked with frustration and anger.

It frightened Sasuke so much to see Naruto like this. "For killing you…"

A dry laugh echoed through the room. Though it was well lit, the room felt dark and ominous. "I'm still alive, teme…" the blue eyes were slightly hidden as his eyelids closed halfway in a hypnotized sort of look.

"I—"

"Sasuke, you're talking an awful lot today… Maybe you're not feeling well. You'd better go to sleep soon…" Naruto tiredly pushed his chair out and took his bowl to the sink as well.

Sasuke's hand lingered on the chair Naruto was sitting on just a few seconds ago. "Naruto…"

---

"Nee-san… We're hurting them so much… so much…" the little girl's eyes threatened to spill over with tears.

Her older sister stayed silent but her hands clenched tighter together. Her other hand went by her eyes to brush away her tears as well. "I should have listened to you, hm, little one?" her voice shook.

"Break the jutsu, nee-san, please, please…" she sobbed quietly, clutching onto her older sister's shirt.

"Little one… Little one… I can't…" her black eyes peered through the windows and into the kitchen where Sasuke still sat at. His hands were stroking the table absently. "I'm sorry…"

---

Naruto didn't flinch when Sasuke's hand was placed on his arm. He was so thin right now… So skinny, so lifeless… His eyes were hollowed in and his eyes no longer sparkled.

They stood in the dark bedroom, the light off. Their silhouettes were outlined by the window that they were standing in front of. After the uncomfortable scene at dinner, Sasuke had washed up and Naruto had returned to the room to watch over him again.

"Naruto… It's… you…" Sasuke repeated the word that he said that morning. His eyes glittered.

The blonde pulled his arm away angrily. "What _about _me, teme? What about it? What do you want? You--! I…" Naruto crouched down on the floor and placed his arms around his legs. His anger faded quickly.

_Naruto… Your emotions are so unstable right now… It's all my fault…_

"You asked me… 'What more do you want?'" Sasuke repeated his words, kneeling down so that he was at the same level Naruto was at.

Blue eyes didn't brighten.

"Dobe…" he whispered the word out softly.

They sparked. A blue flame. A small one. It was becoming alive again…

"It's you that I want…"

It's alive again. It's burning. Blazing. Leaping. Flying.

_Naruto… You're alive again_…

---

"They'll suffer even more now…"

Dark, black eyes stared at them. In their eyes, a thin thread connected Sasuke and Naruto together. A thread that one could see. No one but them. They could see all the threads that held everyone as one.

"Yes…"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: The first part is yet another glance in the future. Fear the fluff in this chapter! Feeaaar! Feeaaa-- shot**

**Extra Notes: I will be updating chapters every three days or so from now on I realize I'm working too fast. I have chapter nine all ready and everything, but you'll just have to wait! evil cackle**

---

Naruto whimpered slightly when he felt someone pick him up. What was that scent? It was so familiar, but splashed with the awful odor of blood. He felt nauseous, but didn't even have the energy to open his eyes. Even so, he knew who was carrying him. But to where, he had no idea.

_What about our promise? Your broke it… You broke it…_ _You promised me… On that day… Didn't you?_

_---_

Ah… It was a lovely morning. Or so Sasuke had felt as much as he could before opening his eyes. His bed was still fluffy and warm with the sun's ray. Small running shadows pranced on the dark blue sheets as he laid there with his eyes closed. It was only a week after Sasuke had, somewhat awkwardly, confessed to Naruto about his true feelings.

A giant fluffy blanket was comfortably heavy on him. What a nice, quiet morning…

Sasuke's eyes snapped opening. What? A quiet morning? That idiot was still watching him! Crud. His eyes darted around nervously, but before he could sit up and scramble off the bed—

"Goood MOOORNING, Sasuke!" a huge dark shadow pounced over the bed.

"HOLY—"

---

"Sorry about that, Sasuke…" Naruto meekly apologized, knowing full well that his apology could not heal that giant bruise on his shoulder.

The Uchiha grumbled darkly about something before he winced slightly and put down two bowls and a plate of food. "Don't complain," he demanded Naruto the second he saw the boy look up.

Whines were immediately swallowed by the still sorry boy and the second time he opened his mouth, it was to practically scream out "Itadakimasu!"

_Why do I… like him again?_ Sasuke repeated the phrase but much more quietly. Even now, he could not bring himself to say "love" yet. He could tell that Naruto didn't like breakfast all that much. In fact, the first thing he did when he went into Sasuke's house was to investigate the refrigerator. He still remembered his reaction.

"_Sasuke! What's up with all these tomatoes in here? Don't you eat anything else? Like, ramen?"_

He watched as Naruto, as usual, half heartedly picked at the tomatoes and eggs that he had fried up in the morning. Sasuke cleared his throat, embarrassed, and announced, "I'll take you to Ichiraku for lunch later…"

The table was nearly flipped over when Naruto clambered over to Sasuke and hugged him. Which, in turn, made Sasuke yelp in pain when his bruise was hit.

"Okay, idiot. Get off, it hurts!" Sasuke shoved him off roughly. He realized that Naruto wasn't exactly happy with that. In fact, he looked depressed all of a sudden. "Uh… Sorry about that…" Sasuke stared at him, but there was no reaction from him. _Shoot, what did I do?_

Suddenly a wide smile broke the sadness that was held on his face two seconds ago. "It's okay. Thanks, Sasuke!" He suddenly frowned again and Sasuke couldn't help but to shudder a bit when a dark shadow passed the blonde's face.

"Smile, Sasuke! Stop looking like you're out to kill the entire world!" His hands clapped onto Sasuke's face as he suddenly began stretching his lips until a 'smile' was formed.

"Nnrgh!" Sasuke complained, grabbing his wrists and pulling his hands off his face. "I'll smile when I feel like it," immediately turning sour again. Naruto didn't seem to be affected by it, because all he did was lean down and kissed him shyly on the cheek.

The reaction was instantaneous, because the second he was kissed, Sasuke let go of Naruto's wrists and turned bright red. He rested his palm against the spot where Naruto had just kissed him.

"There! You're smiling now!" Naruto pranced away, but even a flustered Sasuke could see that he was blushing just as deeply as he was.

---

The two boys nervously walked down the streets of Konoha. When people had heard the news of Uchiha Sasuke, a genius, and Uzumaki Naruto, container of Kyuubi, 'getting together', hell broke loose.

Friends of the two accepted the strange arrangement.

Team Ten sort of stared at them when they heard the news. Ino crumbled away and floated off after two seconds, but quickly recovered after a few days.

Team Eight was the least responsive, with Hinata fainting immediately, Kiba looking at them wide-eyed, and Shino… Well, he just… stood… there.

Team Gai nearly killed them. Or so Lee did anyway. There were swept away by him, literally, and was twirled around crazily, listening to him yell about "spring times of youth" and "young love". They were lucky that Neji and Tenten were able to keep Gai back from the "festivities".

Sakura and Sai were most acceptive towards the pairing. In fact, Sasuke could have sworn that Sai smiled at him when he heard that they were together. Sakura beamed at them and teased Naruto to no end.

Konohamaru screamed at him like a maniac, Moegi giggled and made fun of Sasuke (he nearly killed her, that short tempered idiot), and Udon sniffed.

But others weren't as open-minded. There were still people who regarded Naruto as _the _fox-demon, not a container _for_ the demon. They thought it was terrible that Uchiha Sasuke who was "such a wonderful boy" had been "seduced by such a horrible demon".

And, although Naruto had claimed that Sasuke had been accepted back into Konoha without a grudge, there were people who still hated him for betraying the village. They were the ones that said it was "poor Naruto" who had been "seduced by a traitor".

Then, of course, there were those who were just closed minded and thought it was "sick, wrong, and disgusting" for "a fox demon and a traitor" to be together, but they decided that "the two of them were twisted enough to be a pair".

And so, there you have the perfect summing up of the reactions the two boys received from Konoha.

As mentioned before, the two of them were walking down the street. They weren't holding hands but they were walking close enough to indicate their relationship. Naruto shifted uncomfortably when people started to gather behind them, pointing and whispering loudly. They weren't deaf, did they realize that at all?

Naruto whimpered when several girls pushed by him, making him stumble back a bit. They were obviously displeased that Sasuke had been "lured in" and chose not to take one of them as his girlfriend. At that, Sasuke snapped. He didn't visibly appear to have broken, but Naruto knew something was wrong when he roughly grabbed his hand and leaned in so that his lips wavered above his ears. They stopped walking.

After a few seconds they separated into their original distance. The rude group behind them shrugged that off and continued to talk about them to anyone who would stop by and listen. A few of the more immature ones even followed them and jeered silently at them.

Suddenly they stopped again. Sasuke turned back slowly, his eyes closed. Naruto crouched down and spun around. There were shrill screams and quite a bit of commotion when Sasuke opened his eyes, and Naruto his mouth.

With a bit of chakra, both of them activated their own "special weapon". Sasuke's Sharingan swirled dangerously as he laughed maniacally, glaring at the group with crazed red eyes. Naruto growled and swiped at the people. He was able to borrow a little bit of Kyuubi's power so that his eyes were red and his canines had sharpened out. There was no harm in taking so little of his chakra.

The crowd dispersed, completely panicked and shocked by the two. Naruto laughed boastfully and picked himself up from all fours, brushing away the dirt from his hands. Sasuke smiled lightly at him and they continued on their walk. Anyone who was sane kept away from those two and didn't make fun of them.

---

"You know what, Naruto?" Sasuke asked quietly as the two of them laid in bed.

Tsunade must've forgotten to take Naruto off his mission of watching Sasuke, because three weeks had passed since Sasuke had confessed, and here was Naruto, still following his every step. Maybe it was out of willingness, though.

Since his confession, Naruto had been invited into the bed to sleep, and not at the wall. Sasuke was petting Naruto softly, his fingers rubbing the yellow hair every now and then.

"Hmm?" Naruto sleepily murmured, turning away a bit so that he could talk properly.

"We should get married." Sasuke never really did beat around the bushes, did he?

His chin was nearly obliterated when Naruto bolted up. "What?" His eyes no longer looked sleepy. The blonde grabbed Sasuke by the collar and asked him again, "_What?_"

"We… We've known each other for years, right?" Sasuke pulled his hands off his collar and made him sit back a bit so that shadows form the window fluttered over Naruto's face.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his lips stretched into a straight line. His expression resembled the one he always wore when he caught Jiraiya spying on girls. "Pervert," he said and commenced to jump off the bed.

"N-no, that's not what I meant!" Sasuke leaned over the bed and grabbed his arm. "I mean… We're ninjas, right?"

The blonde calmed down and sat back on the edge of the bed, ready to run away if Sasuke's logic didn't reach him. "So?"

"We're always in danger… Every day we might die…" the grim fact hung in the air. "I just want to be with you forever…"

Naruto was quiet as the facts ran through his head. "That's not possible though…"

Sasuke knew the fact as well. Although it wasn't noted in the rules and regulations of Konoha, people wouldn't accept their marriage. It was almost as bad as murder in the eyes of those who thought that only two of different genders could really "love".

"Tsunade-sama will let us. We can have a small wedding. Just our friends…" he vainly tried again.

"Something like marriage isn't needed to keep us together…" Naruto said quietly and left the room abruptly.

The sudden departure made Sasuke want to cry. He wasn't usually one who would show his feelings, but just that sudden swirl of yellow hair… And he was gone. For a second, Sasuke just couldn't bear the fact that Naruto had left. It was as if he had just suddenly died.

Words couldn't describe how he felt when he saw Naruto walk back into the room with something behind his back. Sasuke's face was blank. He wanted to jump off the bed and hug the idiot for suddenly leaving like that. But he couldn't because his voice would have surely cracked if he said anything.

Naruto sat down in front of Sasuke again. "Hand," he demanded and Sasuke held out his right hand for him. "Close your eyes," he said. Sasuke did as he was told. He could hear a small 'snap'. Then he felt Naruto's warm hands fumble around with his own. "Don't open them yet…" Naruto said and again, Sasuke heard a small 'snap'. "Okay!"

When Sasuke opened his eyes again, Naruto proudly held out his left hand in front of his face and grinned. There wasn't anything different… Wait, no… It was because of the darkness in the room that made Sasuke unable to see what was on his hand the second he opened his eyes.

A red thread was tied around Naruto's ring finger. He looked at his right hand. A small bow of red thread was tied around his ring finger as well. "We're tied together, right, Sasuke?"

"I… I thought you forgot already…" Sasuke muttered, looking at the small spool of thread that Naruto had been able to fish out. It probably came from his sewing kit that he used whenever he needed to mend clothes.

"I sort of did, but I remembered after a while… But…" Naruto's face clouded over when he remembered something. "Where did it go?"

"What? The thread?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded. "I don't know… Maybe it was just my eyes going crazy on me because I was in pain after I broke my wrist, but it just… disappeared…" The Uchiha hoped that Naruto would think he was insane.

"Maybe it did… When I later asked Sai and Sakura if they saw the thread, they said that they only saw a slashed spool next to you. Or maybe they were in too much of a rush to notice. But that shouldn't be possible, right? After all, I did tie up you and everything…" the blonde's expression evolved until he looked even more confused.

"Don't worry too much about it, Naruto…" Sasuke comforted him even though he was just as puzzled.

"So… What day?" Naruto chirped all of a sudden, carelessly throwing the spool onto the night table and curling under thick, fluffy blankets again.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke fluffed up his pillow again before putting his head down.

"Idiot… What day should our wedding be?" The blonde laughed lightly when he saw dark eyes become bright. His blue eyes widened in shock when Sasuke suddenly pulled him close to his own body and kissed him.

It wasn't as if they didn't kiss before… I mean, years ago, when they were barely Genin, they kissed, right? No? Well… Um, there was that time when Naruto forced Sasuke to drink water! What? That doesn't count either? Fine. We'll just say this is their "first kiss" then.

"Sorry… Reflexes," Sasuke apologized, his face dark red as he pulled away.

"You have messed up reflexes," Naruto grumbled in false annoyance. He hugged Sasuke and buried his head into his chest, his cheek rubbing up against the slightly rough fabric of his pajamas.

"I know…" Sasuke began to pet him again. "How about next month?"

"That fast?" the blonde asked.

"Did you not hear my logic just five minutes ago?"

"Fine… We'll ask Tsunade-baa-chan tomorrow…" Naruto muttered before falling asleep.

A rare smile went onto Sasuke's lips as he fell asleep to Naruto's even breathing sounds.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Am I writing too quickly? Does this make sense? Do you guys like this? Read and review and at least try to remember to answer these questions! XP**

**Extra Notes: As mentioned before, I will update this every three days. I actually _finished_ this story already, but you guys will just have to suffer and wait until I update!**

---

"… They're coming… They're moving again…"

Naruto and Sasuke halted in front of the door. His hand was placed against the cool wood of the door. The Hokage's office. Usually, they would go in immediately, but that fear in her voice, the meaning in her words, the feeling in the following silence…. They stopped.

They could hear soft rustling of clothing and the chair that Tsunade usually sat on squeak before something broke the silence again. "Naruto. Sasuke. Come in."

They did so. Naruto wiped his face from his worry and smiled at the people in the room. Sasuke followed in but crashed into the boy when Naruto abruptly stopped.

"Kakashi-sensei? Yamato-sensei?" he asked quietly. His eyes wandered around the room.

Kakashi, Yamato, Kurenai, Asuma, Shizune, Iruka, and Tsunade looked at them curiously as they walked in.

"Why are you guys here?" Naruto asked, the previous words that Tsunade spoke completely banished.

"It's nothing, really…" Yamato replied quietly, his lips held in a straight line. Naruto didn't notice that everyone seemed especially tense. But Sasuke did.

"And you, Naruto? What are you two doing in here?" Tsunade asked them quietly. Shizune shifted about but didn't say anything.

Naruto stepped back to Sasuke and blushed a bit. "We… We weren't really expecting so many people to be here right now…"

Sasuke picked up on the broken words that Naruto stuttered on. "We're here for a small… request, Tsunade-sama."

"Oh?" her eyebrows rose a bit as she looked at them, slightly amused.

The seven of them stood there and watched the two of them.

"We want to get married."

---

"Naruto, are you sure Sasuke's feeling okay?" Sakura gently prodded the boy and stood there with one of her hands on her hips.

Naruto shrugged. "I can't say he's feeling all that great," he laughed. . Sasuke had run off somewhere to get some of the more important items for the wedding.

Sakura looked down at the red paper again. On the envelope it had, neatly printed, was everyone's name and their own. Inside was a red card that proclaimed the date in which they were going to get married on and where it would be.

It wasn't going to be a big wedding. It was going to take place on top of the Hokage's office. There was only going to be twenty three people there. Kakashi, Iruka, Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, Yamato, Sakura, Sai, Asuma, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kurenai, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Gai, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi. Well, twenty five if you counted Naruto and Sasuke as well.

It was going to be exactly thirty days starting from today. There wouldn't be many preparations. It wouldn't take too long. They were both getting suits. Even though Naruto was girly, he still had enough male pride in himself not to go wearing a gown, much to Sasuke's displeasure.

She smiled lightly. "You'd better get going with those invitations," she poked him again and looked at the giant stack of envelopes he still had to deliver.

"Oh! Right! Thanks Sakura-chan!" the dazed look from his face cleared and he ran off in a blur or yellow, orange, and black. The pink haired girl laughed a bit and tucked the envelope away.

---

"Stupid Sasuke…" he muttered under his breath. The sky was almost dark and he still had three more invitations to send. Ironically, he completely forgot about Tsunade and Shizune's invitation in the rush of everything. "Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked and poked his head into the classroom.

"Oh… Naruto. What are you doing here so late?" the teacher looked up from the stack of papers he had on the table. He smiled at his former student but a strange strangled smile on his face made Naruto worried.

"I came here to give you this!" Naruto handed him one of the remaining envelopes.

Iruka eyed it suspiciously before opening it. His eyes scanned the lines before the smile on his face became a grin. Then it fell all of a sudden. "Like I said yesterday morning… I'm glad… But…" he trailed off, leaving Naruto hanging.

"Congratulations, Naruto…" Suddenly tears welled up in his eyes.

"Whoa… Iruka-sensei, what's wrong?" Naruto dropped the envelopes on the desk and hurried around it. He held his former teacher's shoulders as the grown man started to cry.

"I'm sorry… It's just that I've grown so attached to you, I feel like I marrying off my son or something…" he hiccupped and wiped his eyes. Naruto didn't know what to do so he just stood there smiling.

"It's not like I won't ever visit you again! Nothing will change, Iruka-sensei. Don't worry about it, geez. You're making me feel embarrassed!" the blonde laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"You're right. I'm just being silly…" Iruka took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Sorry about that, Naruto…"

"It's okay!" he laughed loudly.

The man looked at the other two envelopes on his desk. "You'd better hurry and give out those two invitations too. It's really late already…"

"Darn it! I keep getting sidetracked with things and forget why I'm even here! Sorry, sensei, I have to go!" Naruto snatched up the two envelopes and flew out of there.

"… Naruto… Please be safe…"

---

Sasuke stood in the dark room silently. Tsunade didn't bother to turn on the lights. They were the only two in the room.

The moon was not here tonight. She wasn't here to watch over the people and grant them with sweet dreams. Only the bright stars twinkled at them. But tonight, their brilliant sparkle was dulled.

"You can refuse the mission… But Naruto is going to be offered the same thing, Sasuke…" Tsunade broke the silence. You could almost feel it shatter as she spoke. Her voice was flat. Long fingers were intertwined with each other as she leaned on the desk with her elbows slightly splayed out. Her eyes gazed at Sasuke's dark figure.

"I… He's coming… If he accepts, I'll go as well…" Sasuke could feel that familiar, unconcealed chakra grow stronger as Naruto dashed down the shadow riddled hallways. His face was turned down, so that his dark blue-ish hair covered his eyes.

"Wah! It's so dark in here! Baa-chan, get some lights on or something!" That was Naruto's first complaint. He was clutching the last invitation. He crashed into Shizune a few minutes ago and already gave it to her.

His bubbly happiness drained out of him when he felt the aurora of the room. "What's wrong?" The room held the same impending feeling that it had yesterday morning. He looked at Sasuke's back hopelessly. Tsunade acknowledged him, but it was a cold look. It wasn't hate for him though.

"Akatsuki." That was the word that fell from her lips. It froze in the air, hanging there until it was swept away with her warm breath.

One word. Four syllables. Was it so hard to say? So hard to understand? So hard to accept?

"They're back." Sasuke's voice was painfully soft.

Naruto shivered and the envelope dropped from his suddenly cold fingers.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Yes, another view into the future. Just for the drama! And please remember to review for me? It makes me very happy! If I don't get 80 reviews by Monday, I won't upload Chapter 11!**

**---**

Why was the snow so red? So bloody… So heavy… So cold… Why? And that smile? Where is it now? I miss it…

Why?

---

"We're certain that they're after Kyuubi…" Tsunade said into the darkness that held them all. The envelope seemed to glow in the weak light that flooded in from the large windows. A cold wind blew by, but they could not feel it.

Naruto stared blindly at the dark silhouette. Sasuke shifted slightly.

"We… Konohagukre requests that you join in on an S-rank mission," Tsunade tried hard not to let emotions bleed into her voice, but Naruto could hear the small waver in it. "You will have to leave here. They'll destroy Konoha if you stay. Just like they tried to destroy Suna. Of course, you have the choice to refuse this mission…"

Tears slid off her face as she repeated the request to him. Her voice broke off at several places, but she continued on. "Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, Sakura, and Sasuke have all been requested this same mission. You'll have to leave Konoha and try to kill Akatsuki before they come. There is a high possibility that you will not return. Do you wish to accept or decline this mission?"

It hurt her to say such a thing. Sacrifices had to be made for the more important thing. Konoha. The people who lived there. That was their mission. Everyone's mission. To protect Konoha with their life. But it hurt her to see that her third important person might die. The third person to wear that necklace and to receive a kiss from her… He might die…

"I accept it." His voice was dead. Eyes that were no more but hollow holes stared back at her with a strong gaze.

Sasuke's eyes fell a bit. He knew that Naruto would accept it no matter what. That was his dream, wasn't it? To protect Konoha with his life. Even so, he inconsiderately thought that maybe Naruto would refuse to do the dangerous mission. Maybe he would refuse it and allow others to protect _him_ with _their_ lives…

"I accept it as well…" Sasuke turned to see Naruto. So lifeless… So empty…

"Very well. Find Sai and Sakura and bring them here. All of you will leave tonight if they choose to accept this mission as well. Go!" Tsunade turned her chair so that they couldn't see her face.

---

The other two had, after a slight second of hesitation, accepted as well. Now they were standing at the quiet gates of Konoha. Their faces were blank, but the feeling they had were all grim.

None of them said anything. They just left. Without another glance at Konoha, they left. Details of where the Akatsuki cave was were given to them quickly. They had a map that would lead them to the group.

Nearly barren trees did not hide them from prying eyes. The stars only offered so much light to them. The moon had selfishly hidden herself away. But they supposed that it was a good thing that it was dark tonight.

For many days they would have to live off soldier pills. They didn't have the luxury of being able to stop and rest. No, they would go. And quickly. For many days Konoha and Suna had been relaying messages to each other. Their source of information about Akatsuki had suddenly alerted them that they would attack in three weeks. Though the messages arrived quickly, they still weren't fast enough.

If Konoha was attacked, they would surely lose. Even with the amount of ninjas they had, they weren't prepared. The shocking news hadn't reached them soon enough. Ever since Sasuke was taken back, there have been preparations for the group, but no one had realized they would move so quickly. It was a surprise attack. And it had worked.

And so, the six of them ran. They ran against time. Against fate. Against destiny. No. Konoha will not be attacked. Because the six of them would try and keep them back. Even if it did cost their lives.

They couldn't afford to send out many ninjas. Many of them had to stay back and help evacuate the entire village. Everyone might not make it, yes, but many of them will be safe. Even with the six of them keeping Akatsuki back, Tsunade knew that there was still a high possibility that they would come.

Even if they did get Kyuubi, they might attack Konoha. Just for fun. Just to weaken them and make them beg for protection from other countries. Maybe. That possibility would not fade away. No matter what, they had to prepare for the worst because either way, they might come.

They didn't stop, couldn't stop, even when they were so tired. Even when the effects of the pills had faded off. Heavy eyes threatened to close, heavy limbs complained, senses were dulled, but they didn't stop. Akatsuki had chosen a spot that was very near to Konoha. It would take them eight days to reach them.

Finally, in order to be ready for their fight, they rested on the sixth day. They were near to the hideout area. It was close enough for them to observe their motions, but also close enough to be attacked. For three days they rested and ate a lot to replenish lost energy. All of them had a small pack of soldier pills for stamina during their fight.

They told jokes, messed around, talked, sat, smiled, laughed, cried, and complained because the food was bad… Because they knew it might be the last time they would ever be able to do so again. It was the time when they got to know each other the best.

---

"Sasuke…" Naruto said quietly in the darkness of the night. Everyone else was sleeping already. Naruto had taken the first shift to watch over them. He knew that Sasuke was still awake though.

"Sasuke…" he repeated, even as he boy crawled out of his sleeping back and hugged the blonde from behind.

"Promise me something?" Naruto asked him softly, as not to disturb the others. They had no fire. They couldn't risk being seen. It was cold. So cold, but there was no snow yet.

"Yes, Naruto?" Sasuke whispered into his neck, his dry lips scratching Naruto's skin.

"Promise me you'll be with me forever, Sasuke…" his voice didn't break even as he cried. He hadn't cried for a long time…

"I promise…" Sasuke nuzzled the boy's neck even as his own tears wet his skin.

---

It has been nine days since they last set out. In two days, they would reach their destination. And then they would only have another ten days to abolish them. Before they attacked Konoha…

On the twelfth day, they reached the hideout.

They stood behind trees and carefully concealed their chakra so they wouldn't be found. There. That cave. That should be their temporary hideout.

Kakashi lifted his headband so that he could use his Sharingan. All of them had their kunais out and were anxiously awaiting their sign to attack. They were grouped up in twos so that they could split into three directions and seek them out quickly.

Yamato glanced over to Kakashi. Their eyes were clouded over as they nodded and they sprinted away, mere blurs as they rushed to the cave.

Silence. Green moss hung greedily onto the sharp, ragged sides of the damp cave. There was a sharp twang when a string suddenly released itself and several shurikens and kunais flew by them. All of them fell to the floor as all of them blocked them. A sickeningly sticky liquid dripped from their tips.

No mercy whatsoever. That's how they like to play. Immediately they sprang into action, running off into three different directions.

---

Naruto's shoes quickly skirted the slick rocks. He could hear Sasuke next to him, his breath thin and quick. They stopped when they reached a place where the cave became two tunnels. They nodded to each other and went into the right tunnel.

Sai crouched down quickly and Sakura stopped behind him. He pulled out a scroll and began frantically drawing animals onto the blank page. He clasped his hands together with a seal and brought them to life, sending them into the tunnels to bring back information and detonate traps.

Kakashi looked around with his right eye closed. He pointed silently and Yamato clapped his hands together, muttering something under his breath. Small sprouts of trees burst from the dead rocks, cracking and splitting the once strong structure.

---

Red eyes watched them run around in the cave. They blinked and quickly turned black again. A small chuckle erupted from his throat.

"Get ready to play…"

---

**A/N: Yeah, I was kidding about the "80 reviews or else" thing, okay? Don't kill me!**

**--As an temporary experiment, maybe permanent, Chapter 11 will be uploaded tomorrow at 10 p.m. Pacific--  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Oh, the suspense! The drama! The… Um… The whatever!**

---

Various places in the cave began to fall apart. Trees were growing in the cracks, ink animals were attacking the walls, and explosive notes were bombing everywhere. Yes, the hideout was being destroyed quite nicely.

---

"How many are in here?" Naruto asked Sasuke quietly as they planted more tags around weaker areas of the cave.

"There should be at least two…" the Uchiha answered just as quietly. There really wasn't a reason to be whispering. The noises of the cave collapsing were enough to alert anyone who was their enemy. But the two of them were still talking quietly.

---

"Not here…" Sai rolled up the scroll. With another hand seals, various ink animals ran back into the nearly empty bottle of ink and it became full again.

Sakura nodded and ran back toward the tunnel in which they just entered from.

---

Yamato shook his head slightly and unclasped his hands, the trees that had made the rocks crumble into dust retreated. Kakashi glanced over the dust and backed away, running into another tunnel.

_Where are they?_

---

Sharp vicious teeth shone in the dark light. "Which ones should we go for first…?"

Dark black eyes glittered dangerously as they smiled with malicious laughter.

---

"Tsunade-sama!"

The Hokage's head turned quickly when she heard her name being called. Shizune was running rapidly at her. Her hands were trembling as she brought out a barely decoded message to her.

She read it quickly and her hands tightened around the flimsy paper when she finished it. Her pupils were dilated in fear when she looked up. Tsunade's eyelids closed halfway and her shoulders drooped.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered to herself more than to anyone else.

"Tsunade-sama… We still have to hurry…" Shizune shook her lightly on the shoulder and made her snap out of her daze.

She nodded briskly and crumpled up the paper, reverting back to her unbreakable self and walked out of the office briskly.

The chilly winds made them both shiver when they ran out. Everyone in Konoha was awake, save a few smaller children and babies. Torches were placed in irregular intervals, but they still made it possible for everyone to see.

Tsunade bit her lower lip nervously. She wasn't pleased that it already took them nearly two weeks to get ready for evacuation. They didn't have enough time. Or at least, they didn't have enough time until Tsunade received the message.

Her eyes glanced over the huge crowd and nodded quickly. Everyone was ready. She looked at Konoha one last time lovingly. She feared that it would be the last time they could see their village again, but there was no choice. There was too much danger if they stayed… Even… Even if…

She clenched her fist and brought her hand up, silencing the crowd. She lowered her eyes for a second before looking up again. A fierce fire burned and danced in her eyes as she turned around and brought her hand down. They began moving.

---

"Naruto!" Sasuke cried out hoarsely as he watched the boy slip and fall on a patch of ice. It had begun snowing all of a sudden, and it wasn't pretty and soft either. The first snow of the year and it was hard and vicious. His voice was torn away from his lips as the wind howled angrily.

The dark haired boy ran back and picked up the other. Their breaths came out raggedly. They didn't have enough clothing on in this weather, but they had more worries than that right now.

Naruto stood up haphazardly and shook his head roughly. _Keep going, keep running!_ his eyes indicated, wide and full of fear. He shivered in the cold and felt Sasuke's hand tighten around his own.

"Little ones…" a soft voice swirled around them as the wind danced crazily. It was a voice both of them were familiar with. "How long has it been since we last saw each other? Are you going to come to nii-san and give him a hug?" A rough laugh mingled in with the mocking and gentle voice.

The two of them shuddered at the voice and the laugh. They released their grip on each other's hands and stood back to back with each other, weapons out and ready. The snowstorm that pushed them around wasn't helping them at all.

Sasuke's eyes turned red as he activated his Sharingan. His body began to tense as they stood motionless, waiting for them to attack.

"Aww… Doesn't my little brother look so cute, Kisame?" the taunting voice rang out again.

"You scare me with that girlish voice you're using," another deep voice blatantly stated. There was a long silence that filled the cold snowflakes.

The younger Uchiha could hear, barely hear, Naruto's breath stop momentarily when two dark figures materialized in with the falling snowflakes that nearly obscured their view completely.

Kisame was leaning on Samehada and grinning at them, his sharp teeth slick with saliva. Itachi smirked at them, his eyes just as red as Sasuke's.

Their grip on their kunai tightened as the two figures grinned at them. Naruto's usually soft and gentle eyes were crazed and serious. Sasuke had his teeth bared unconsciously, like a cat that was cornered.

Kisame suddenly darted in front of Naruto and leaned in closely. "Cute fox demon… Do you want to play with me?" he laughed and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him away from Sasuke before he could react.

"Naru—!" Sasuke's desperate cry was cut short as his brother suddenly appeared in front of him. Even his Sharingan could barely see the quick moments. He quickly took a step back. Three years of training with Orochimaru was not going to waste.

"What is this? My little brother had grown weaker… You still don't have enough hate in your eyes…" Itachi smiled at him. It was such a sick sardonic smile. So fake… So sweet… It made Sasuke want to vomit.

"You're wrong…" he whispered, half expecting Itachi not to hear because the wind was so strong.

"Oh?" Itachi's smile didn't fade as he leaned in and clutched his little brother's shoulder, immobilizing him momentarily. Sasuke could feel his breath swirl around his ear. "Why am I wrong, little one?"

Blood splattered onto the readily piling snow when Sasuke darted back. His cheek was cut. Itachi laughed sadistically as he looked at the bloody kunai in his hand.

"Hate doesn't make one strong. It makes one weak…" his voice shattered as he spoke.

"Really?" Itachi looked to his left when a shrill but hoarse scream broke through the wind barriers and reached them. "Look who's talking, little one…"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard Naruto's weak yell. They immediately narrowed again. "You can only hate someone so much before that limit is reached… But your love for someone is never-ending…" this time his voice had a sharp edge to it.

Itachi smiled at him gently and shifted his weight a bit as his little brother charged at him, his war cry ripping through the cold wind and snow.

"Foolish little brother of mine…"

---

Tsunade looked behind her nervously. She shook her head lightly and continued walking. There was nothing to worry about. The top ninjas were set around the perimeter of the huge group and even a giant genjutsu had been placed around them so that no one could have seen them.

Even so, she was jittery and nervous. Something kept churning in her stomach, making her feel nauseous. The words of the message kept running through her mind.

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune looked at her worriedly. "… They're going to be fine…"

Sadness filled her eyes as she nodded and wearily continued leading the entire village out of harm. Even with so many people moving at once, the entire village was quiet. There were a few wails from small children and babies, but the forest was otherwise quiet. Animals that lived near there had run away long ago, leaving the trail clear for them to pass by.

There was a temporary evacuation area for them, but it would take them a day or so to reach. Everyone was tired and sleep deprived right now, but no one complained. They knew the dangers. The world was silent for them as they trudged ahead tiredly.

Tsunade had kept careful track of their remaining days. Once the sun rose, it would be the fourteenth day since the six of them had left. Fourteen days. Two weeks…

---

"What's wrong, little fox demon? Aren't you strong enough to beat me?" Kisame looked down, amused, at Naruto's hunched over figure. He prodded him with his chakra devouring sword and chuckled.

"… I'm not as weak as you think I am!" he suddenly roared, springing up from his position and bringing a kunai up.

"Feisty demon!" he laughed and jumped back with ease. "Where's your precious Kyuubi now? Why aren't you using his chakra, hm?" he teased. That only succeeded in making Naruto even angrier.

"Shut up!" he screamed, his eyes threatening to turn red. Naruto closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. When he opened them again, they were blue. The wound on his shoulder was healing quickly, but it still wasn't fast enough.

"It's been fun playing with you, fox demon…"

---

"_Hokage-sama,_

_We are hoping desperately that you will receive this quickly. Our spies have discovered something more important now. Two days ago, we received information that almost all of Akatsuki have gathered into the cave in which they were in several months ago. There are only two that are missing. Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame._

_Our suspicions are not yet confirmed, but we believe that the two of them are hiding out in the area in which we gave to you some time ago. We think that they are only there to distract and abduct Uzumaki Naruto. There are no evidence of this whatsoever, but we cannot be too careless._

_There is a high chance that the team that you sent out will die. There does not seem to be a valid reason for Akatsuki to be inside the cave physically, but we will research it as quickly as possible. We suspect that Konoha will not be attacked after Kyuubi is extracted, however, it is still better to be on the safe side._

_-Sunagakure"_


	12. Chapter 12

Where are you running to, little brother?"

Sasuke looked around but couldn't see anything due to the thick and unrelenting snow. His right leg was dragging behind him as he limped faster. Blood disfigured the snow as it fell quickly. A snarl was locked in place as the younger Uchiha tried to ignore the taunts.

"You know what you'll see even if you get there in time…"

A kunai whizzed by Sasuke, missing him only by a little bit. He could even feel the cold metal brush by his ear. Itachi was toying with him again. Determined the reach the fight in time, Sasuke limped along. The cold winds blew him down several times, but each time he picked himself up and continued in the direction where he had heard Naruto.

"Look at yourself… You say love makes you stronger? Is that so?" Itachi's red eyes flashed and shimmered dimly in the snowstorm that attacked them.

Pain raced up his back as a shuriken embedded itself into his flesh. Sasuke's mouth opened but he swallowed the scream of pain. He wouldn't allow Itachi the pleasure of hearing him scream.

"Shut up… Shut up…" Sasuke panted quietly as he continued. He didn't know if he was even going in the right direction. He was lost, but he didn't care. If just for one last look…

"That isn't your blood… Is it?" Itachi's voice reached his ears and stung them. Sasuke's slightly blurred vision could see red against the snow. It wasn't his. No… It wasn't his.

"Na… Naruto?" he cried out weakly. There wasn't a response. Dread filled him as he continued to walk. There was a large lump on the floor that forced Sasuke to halt. He stared at it for several seconds, trying to figure out whose body it was.

"Tsk, tsk… Kisame was killed by a brat like him?" the older Uchiha reappeared in front of Sasuke again. His head was tilted slightly and he was smiling again. He didn't even look at his dead partner's body.

The dark haired boy couldn't help but to flinch when his eyes locked in with his own. Itachi began to laugh. He didn't even care that his partner was killed.

"See that, though, Sasuke-kun?" Itachi took out an extra long kunai and pointed behind him. Another mound of snow was lying on the floor. Blood stained the fresh snow but it was clearly Naruto. Frozen blonde hair stuck out from the piles of snow. "He's still alive though…" His breaths gracefully curled above them and was swept away with the merciless winds.

"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed, trying to get past Itachi. His eyes were red with his Sharingan, but he was in no condition to fight. It was a losing battle and he knew that. His brother deliberately stood in front of him and stretched out his arms.

"Oh, little brother… Don't look so scared and heartbroken… It hurts me to see you in such a condition…" Itachi stepped over Kisame's corpse and hugged a very unwilling Sasuke.

"Let go!" he screamed, but even as he flailed and struggled, he could feel the man tighten their "embrace". He felt numb. So numb… Cold snow had made him frostbitten and even now he could not feel the intense pain that should lace through his body with every tremor that ran through his body.

"My poor Sasuke-kun…" Itachi buried his head onto Sasuke's broken shoulder. Sasuke whimpered when Itachi's breath ghosted over his skin. He placed the flat side of the kunai against Sasuke's already cold cheek. "Should I rid you of your discomfort? Would you like that?"

Sasuke shuddered and tried to pull away. Surprisingly, Itachi let go of him. He stumbled back until he was stopped by a tree. The world seemed to blur and swirl as he leaned against the rough, frozen bark. He saw the vague form of his brother approach him again.

"Do you know what this is for, Sasuke-kun?" Itachi gazed at the kunai lovingly. "No? Well… I'll show you in a bit…" he pressed his left arm against his throat and cut of most of Sasuke's air circulation. The younger boy choked and gasped for air. His hands were too weak and couldn't pull the arm away. Sasuke felt himself being pushed up the tree.

_Naruto! Naruto… I promised you…_

"It's such a shame, Sasuke… I had been looking forward to the day when you would kill me… I guess that'll never come though, hm? You're just in the way right now… It's for the bigger picture. You know that, little one… Sacrifices had to be made…" The older Uchiha didn't even flinch as Sasuke weakly kicked him with his left foot.

Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan faded and something remotely connected to regret shone through his eyes. "Good bye, little one…" his lips twisted into a smile as he pulled back his right arm and insanity danced through his eyes.

_No!_

Blood splattered onto Itachi's unmarred face when the kunai pierced through Sasuke's stomach and stabbed itself into the tree behind him. He didn't bother to wipe it away. "You were always such a good boy, Sasuke…" Itachi patted his head affectionately and walked over to Naruto's limp body. Sasuke's mouth opened but no sound came out even as he watched Itachi stroke Naruto's hair lovingly.

Sasuke's body shook with pain as he stared at Itachi pick Naruto up and dart away, his evil laugh swirling away with the cold winds. So useless…

… _Naruto… I never even said "I love you" to you yet… Not once… I'm sorry… I'm so weak… I couldn't even protect you… Will you forgive me? Will you forget me and continue on with life? I don't want to see you sad… Don't cry for me… Please don't cry for me…_

He weakly lifted his head to watch the furious storm. Already, nature was beginning to cover up all the signs of their terrible fight. Kisame's body was naught but a pile of ice and snow. Sasuke could no longer feel his limbs.

_Naruto… My Naruto… I'm so sorry… Sorry… I… I wanted to be with you forever… I wanted to protect you… I..._

A tear slid down Sasuke's cold face and froze. His eyes began to dull and his body began to freeze. Sasuke dropped his head again. His breathing was becoming shallower with each second that passed.

_I love you, Naruto…_

He smiled weakly.

_Can you hear me?_

More blood was spat out as he coughed.

_It hurts…_

The blood dribbled down the side of his mouth.

_I don't care though…_

He couldn't even see now.

_Please live, Naruto..._

Thump-thump.

_Live for both of us…_

Thump-thump…

Thump—

---

**A/N: If you cried, don't yell at me. It pains me to write this but still… I know that at least two of you guys will hate me for life, but I already said, I wrote this beforehand and I won't change anything. There's actually a really lame reason for killing Sasuke off... See, I have this really, _really_ sadistic friend that watches "Naruto" to see who dies next (I'm not kidding, that's what she does) and I guess this'll make her a bit depressed. Besides, if I can make her cry with this, I get five bucks! Man, I'm so lame... Sorry guys! I hope you will at least stick around to see the end of this fic!**

**Advertisement: But if you really wish not to continue reading this, then I recommend you read Lunar Chasmodai's "Road Trip"! Unless Murphy runs over someone, I doubt there will be any character death. D: It's much better than mine, really. Go read it! XP  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: … I can't cry… The tears won't come. I need an eyedropper… Noo… Don't hurt me…**

---

Thump… Thump… Thump…

Such a weak heartbeat… So weak, but he was alive…

_What's this? Why was it so warm?_

Naruto's memories and thoughts were all jumbled up. He could feel wind bite and nip at his cheeks as he flew along. Someone was carrying him. His scent… It was so familiar. Sasuke's scent… But a metallic smell violated the sweetness of it.

_Itachi…_ he thought weakly and his eyes rolled back.

---

Naruto drifted from the real world to his dreams frequently. His sense of time was terribly skewed. Even his stamina could not keep him awake. Bones were broken in many places and it took a lot of his chakra to heal.

Suddenly, halfway between the realm of dreams and the real world, he felt Itachi stop. He could hear fuzzy conversations being exchanged. He couldn't tell whose voices they were, but they were all cold and uncaring.

"Stupid Kyuubi… It's so bothersome to have to all come here just to extract the demon…"

"Stop complaining about it. Kyuubi requires too much of our chakra to extract without us being physically here…"

"Kisame was killed by this kid? Great, now it'll take even more time and energy to rip this demon out…"

"Stop talking. We need to start now…"

He could faintly feel himself being thrown on the floor before knocking out again.

---

"Kid… You're so weak…" a deep voice rumbled. Naruto found himself standing in water again. He looked up with tired eyes. Red demon ones glared at him from the confines of the seal.

"I'm… not weak…" Naruto whispered.

The floor shook with Kyuubi's laughter. "You can't even lie properly now… I'll lend you my strength… See? You're weak without my strength… You rejected it and this is your punishment… You're dying… And so am I…"

"… You're making my head hurt, stupid fox…" Naruto grumbled.

A snarl escaped from the demon's throat. He ignored the rude comment. "Let us reign one last time before our time runs out…"

"I'm not going to die," the blonde stared back at crimson eyes.

Kyuubi laughed harshly again. "Maybe we are… Maybe we're not…"

All of a sudden Naruto fell to his knees and spat out blood. It dissolved in the water. He clutched at his stomach in pain and panted. Kyuubi growled as he clung onto his Jinchuriki.

"But we'll surely die if you don't do anything, kid…" the water began to boil and bubble. Saliva dripped from his pulled back lips as he clawed at the cage.

Naruto stood up shakily and placed his hand on the cage. His eyes looked up wearily and he smiled lightly.

---

"Kakashi… Kakashi, are you okay?" Yamato shook him awake. His face was full of scratches and a wound on his side was bleeding with no signs of stopping or clotting. The man's lips were broken and blue from the cold.

His visible eye opened and he looked up dully. "I'm fine…" he slurred out, sitting up slowly. His ankle was broken but he ignored the pain. Blood was everywhere, but Itachi was nowhere to be found. Kakashi's eye widened in shock.

"Where is—" Kakashi started but wasn't able to finished. He turned his head away and coughed blood out.

Yamato shrugged helplessly. "We have to find the others though. Do you have enough chakra?"

The silver haired man nodded grimly and wiped off some blood off his chin.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" the seal spiraled around his hands and a pack of dogs appeared. "Find Sai, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto…"

They all knew that it would be difficult to find them in the snow. The winds could easily blow the scents in other directions and freshly fallen crystals would cover up any remaining scents. But they couldn't give up.

The nin-dogs barked and yipped before running away to find their targets. There would be fresh blood from all of them, making the search easier, but all that much grimmer.

---

"_You two are so cute… it would be nice if I could see your cold, dead faces, but there are other matters to attend to for now… Maybe we'll have the luck to meet again sometime later!"_

"Sakura…" Sai's voice made her snap out of her thoughts.

"Sorry…" her eyes glazed over again after a few seconds. That's what the man had said, hadn't he? He was in such a hurry to leave that he only immobilized the two of them before running off.

"We have to hurry."

"I know… Your leg is healed now… But I need to rest for a bit…" Sakura's vision wavered a bit.

"… Then we'll wait…" Sai quietly pulled out a scroll and splashed some ink on it, making several animals spring to life from the paper. He sent them off in different directions. "They'll seek out Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-sensei, Sasuke-san, or Naruto… And if we're lucky, we might find the Akatsuki member as well…"

Sakura nodded quietly.

_Naruto… Sasuke…_ she looked at the sky above them, still the snow would not stop. It was so bitter, the cold… Were they okay? Were they safe?

---

"Stop…"

All the members of the group halted the extraction. The leader looked at Naruto's body.

"Geez, what now?" Kakuzu complained impatiently. They have been trying to extract the demon out for two days now. They should have nearly finished by now, but Kyuubi was not cooperative at all.

There was a few seconds of silence. The ground beneath Naruto suddenly began to clear out as a small whirlwind appeared under him. Red chakra crackled and burned as it appeared around his floating body.

"Sh—" Hidan began but his voice was drowned out.

Naruto's eyes snapped open. They were red and his pupils were mere slits. He opened his mouth and revealed sharp canines as he roared angrily. A tail erupted from behind him as the whirlwind became stronger.

Akatsuki braced themselves against the chakra. It was strong enough to make singe them slightly.

"What the heck's happening, un?!" Deidara's voice was snapped away by the strong chakra.

A second tail formed quickly as Naruto dropped onto the floor, on all fours.

Their robes flew open and whipped around wildly at the increasing chakra. All of them jumped off the statue and leapt down to where Naruto was.

Three, no four, tails appeared. Naruto was still in control. Something enraged him so badly. He could barely contain his anger. His growl echoed through the cave as the members tried to get near him and stop him from rebelling. This had never happened before.

Sasori's puppets were destroyed immediately when his tails lashed out. None of Deidara's explosive clay ever reached him as Kyuubi's chakra swiped them away. All was in confusion.

Five tails. Now Naruto was exactly like a small Kyuubi. He yowled in pain as his skin began to burn away. Droplets of his blood splattered everywhere as he rampaged around the cave.

His chakra was multiplying too quickly as a sixth tail appeared. None of Akatsuki's attacks reached him. Slowly, Naruto's size was increasing as well. His nails were claws that burned anything within a meter away and his steps made the cave crumble.

Hidan was able to fulfill all the requirements for his ritual when Naruto noticed him and lashed at him angrily, knocking him out of the circle. More blood filled the air as he roared.

Seven tails.

_Stop! Stop… It hurts! Stupid fox, stop!_ Naruto's pain was unparalleled as his flesh began to tear away. The seal on his stomach was beginning to erode away slowly, but it was still there.

None of the other members seemed to care about each other. Their only concern was for their own safety. There was no escape though, with Naruto blocking the exit. His tails swished behind him angrily. He lifted his head and howled in pain, his vision hazy.

Eight tails. The entire cave was swallowed in his chakra. The rocks began to heat up. Screams of pain echoed and mixed with Naruto's yips and howls.

"Stupid kid…" a voice inside his head rang. "You can't even remember why you're so angry…" Inside, Naruto was sobbing from the pain that literally tore himself to bits. "I'll help you remember…"

Faint, blurry images of Sasuke resurfaced into his mind. He was barely conscious when Itachi had come to take him away. Blood… The kunai. The words…

His wails became louder as he remembered. "Sasuke isn't dead!" he screamed, desperately trying to deceive himself. "He isn't dead!"

Nine tails. The last tail. Naruto was just barely in control of the body now. He was enormous. The powerful chakra devoured everything and burned the area within a 100 meter circumference from the cave.

His lips trembled as saliva dripped down. Akatsuki was destroyed by his blind rage. The forest, the cave, their bodies… All gone. Nothing but ashes now.

_Sasuke… Sasuke… He isn't dead!_

Naruto's senses were many times stronger now. He could see so many things, smell so many things, hear so many things… But he could feel nothing but pain right now. His mind was clouded over as he sought Sasuke's scent and ran toward it wildly.

He took humongous leaps across the forest, burning acres of land with his every footstep. Kyuubi laughed maniacally at Naruto's panic. Each tail began to recede slowly as the time passed.

Two day's worth of travel on foot was reduced down to three hours of leaping and snarling. By the time Naruto had reached the spot where he smelled Sasuke, his tails were all gone except for one.

He was running on two feet now. Red eyes accented the red blood that was dripping from wounds that no longer healed. In his hurry, he didn't even notice that the heavy snow had stopped. The world was quiet as he cried and ran blindly, only vaguely aware of his motions.

There… Sasuke was there… His last tail disappeared and he was crawling in pain now. There was only about three fourths of his skin clinging to his weak body.

He struggled to stand up. _He… he's going to be alive…_

"Stupid, idiot kid… You never give up… You're so weak… Even with me in you, you refused my power… You're so, so weak… You couldn't even protect him…" Kyuubi's stinging words were faint as they died together, but Naruto ignored him.

Naruto was in so much pain that he couldn't even feel it anymore. Finally, he stumbled into the clearing where Sasuke was. The snow had covered up all the blood now.

"Sa…suke…" he weakly said. He tripped over his feet and stood up again, his vision was almost all gone. He could only see faint shapes. It distorted and sharpened at random intervals.

The blonde was surprised when he felt something brush against his palm. It was Sasuke's frozen cheek. He stroked it gently. Sasuke wasn't even standing on the floor. Itachi had pushed him up the trunk and stabbed him, pinning him up.

Naruto could see his face clearly now. His left hand shook as he touched his stiff, cold hair. "Sasuke… I'm… sorry… I couldn't keep you safe… You…" tears made his vision blur again. He allowed them to fall freely.

He stumbled back from the dead body, still so beautiful… So pretty… So handsome… Even though he was dead. Naruto curled up, still staring at the serene face.

_Sasuke… You managed to smile for me even now… So I'll smile for you as well… We're bound together by fate, Sasuke… We'll be together no matter what… Don't worry… I'm sure we'll see each other soon…_

Naruto weakly twitched his lips into a small smile and closed his eyes. Sasuke's own frozen smile was etched into his dying mind.

"Foolish kid… Just one mistake of refusing my power and your punishment will drag me down as well…" Kyuubi curled up inside his seal and prepared to die.

_Shut up stupid fox… You're making my head hurt…_

**A/N: Okay, now I'm certain that most of you guys will leave me because I'm such an idiot. See you guys later! Maybe I'll see you around while reading some other fic. It's okay if you leave now, the ending isn't all that interesting anyway. Or so I think. Bleh, even I don't want to continue submitting the last few chapters because it's so bad... I'm a terrible writer, aren't I? **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Please note that the days that they keep mentioning have an enormous impact on the story plotline itself. The timeline will be further explained in chapter 16.**

**---**

The people of Konoha shifted around nervously all the time. The evacuation was successful. The area was large and comfortable enough, but everyone was still afraid. Especially Tsunade. She kept pacing back and forth, refusing to eat many meals, saying that it would be better if it was saved for the villagers. She had kept careful track of the days that passed. Even in all the confusion, she knew how many days have passed.

_Twenty days…_ she silently reminded herself at the next sunrise. Her hands were at her sides and her eyes were blank as she gazed at the rising sun.

---

Kakashi's nin-dogs were able to find Sakura and Sai very quickly, since Sai's ink animals helped them quite a bit. With a bit of guessing and estimation, Kakashi reached the conclusion that he had sent the dogs out on the seventeenth day of their departure.

On the eighteenth day, the nin-dogs found them. They had to spend a day huddled away in one of Yamato's impromptu wooden buildings because of a freak blizzard. As quickly as it came, though, the blizzard left. On the nineteenth day, they began to search for Saskue and Naruto. They didn't have much hope, since the blizzard would have wiped away all signs of them.

However, the second they forced the door open the dogs could sense that something was wrong.

"Pakkun…" Kakashi said softly to the dog. All of them were shifting around uncertainly. The humans shielded their eyes from the brightness of the sun.

"There's a large disturbance somewhere. Everything is quiet, and it's not because of the previous blizzard… Naruto's scent is extremely strong right now… but…" Pakkun sniffed the air.

"Lead us to him…" Sakura whispered to him, her eyes hard. It was so difficult for her to keep back her worry right now.

It took them a day to reach the place where Naruto and Sasuke were. All of the nin-dogs halted some distance from where they were. They whimpered and trotted back to Kakashi apprehensively, but they didn't continue.

Kakashi dismissed them quickly. Yamato stayed back quietly and only watched with Kakashi as Sakura and Sai ran ahead of them.

"N… Naruto… Sa-Sasuke…" Sakura choked when she saw them. She fell to her knees and began to cry, her sobs were the only thing that could be heard. She didn't care that her knees would become frostbitten if she kneeled on the snow for so long.

Sai stared at the two dead bodies. This time, he knew which expression to use. He, too, began to cry silently. Kakshi and Yamato turned their heads away stiffly when they saw their condition.

Sasuke was still pinned up against the tree, ice crystals invading his once soft hair. The frozen tear and smile were still on his face. Not two feet away from his body, Naruto was curled up. There were places on his body where his skin refused to re-grow and tears were also frozen on his face. A small smile mirrored Saskue's.

It was the twentieth day of their mission. Had they completed it? Or did they fail? It no longer mattered to them anymore.

Yamato walked over to Sakura and pulled her up from the snow. Her shoulders shook violently as she bit her lip and tried to calm herself down. Sai's head was down as he clenched his fists tightly.

"We have to get back to Konoha…" Kakashi broke the quietness and walked over to Sasuke's body. He grabbed the kunai and pulled it out. A strange cracking sound was emitted as it was removed from the cold body. His visible eye closed as he stood there, the stiff body in his arms.

---

For another seven days, Konoha waited. On the twenty seventh day since Team Kakashi left, Tsunade decided to return to the village. No matter what, she had to return there to see if any damage was done.

Many ANBU members accompanied her. She was thoroughly surprised when she saw that Konoha wasn't destroyed at all. It was just the same as they left it. They spent a few hours seeking traps or the like before deciding that Akatsuki hadn't attacked them at all.

It was the twenty eighth day. Tsunade and the ANBU members were getting ready to go back to the evacuation area to retrieve everyone else. They were stopped at the giant gates.

At the same moment they were about to exit the gates again, a group stopped them. Tsunade's eyes spilled over with tears when she saw them.

Kakashi and Yamato were holding Sasuke and Naruto's bodies. Sai and Sakura were trailing behind them numbly. All of them were lifeless. Their soul seemed to be drained from them as they looked up at the small group that greeted them.

---

The village was back now. It has been thirty days. Exactly a month.

Everyone in Konoha was standing in front of two graves. They were all clad in black. Snow fell softly around them, no longer angry. A gently wind caressed them. Tsunade was standing in front.

Her voice was strong when she spoke, but it still broke off several times as she talked. There were people who were crying. Silently, they hurt, cried, remembered, regretted, longed, hoped, wished…

"Today… Today was supposed to be a joyous day. Today was supposed to be the wedding day of Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. But no… Now it is no longer a happy day. We are holding their funerals today…"

Tears glistened in the cold weather as the Hokage's voice rang through the giant courtyard.

"They were both brave. They both had dreams. They never truly finished them. Naruto's dream was to become Hokage. He didn't care that everyone in the village had spurned him and acted coldly toward him. He wanted to protect this village from harm. With his _life_. He succeeded in doing so. Sasuke's dream was to become strong and avenge his clan. He became traitor to us all because his views were skewed, but he learned that hate wasn't the right path to becoming strong. He was traitor, yes, but now he is hero. They are both heroes…"

The sky seemed to listen quietly to her speech as well. Her voice trailed off momentarily to let the words sink in.

"But they were more than that… They were lovers. They loved each other regardless of gender. Regardless of glares and whispers and discrimination. They broke all the barriers because they _loved_ each other!" Her voice became stronger and louder as some anger seeped into her voice.

"Together, they proved that not only a man and a woman could _love_. They proved that 'love' is just a term. It holds no grudge against gender, race, or religion. It is only a word which describes a feeling… Many of you refused to see that truth. You became close minded, and even in their last days together, they suffered because of that!"

Her usually gentle voice held an edge to it now. Many people had lowered their head shamefully as they listened to her. Then it dropped so quickly that many people had to strain to catch her words.

"Naruto didn't care when everyone treated him as _the_ fox demon. Not just the container. He was _never_ the fox demon. He was Uzumaki Naruto. Sasuke didn't care when people only saw him as an 'Uchiha' and not as 'Uchiha Sasuke'. Everyone saw only the surface of these two, but they acknowledged each other. They looked beyond the skin and saw deeply in each other."

Sobs finally interrupted the speech as Tsunade cried. She didn't hide away her tears. She let everyone see that she cared for them.

"… Remember today as the day that Uchiha-Uzumaki Sasuke and Naruto died for the village of Konohagakure…"

**A/N: This isn't the end yet. There's still chapter 15. Chapter 16 will be a list of extras that I wholeheartedly wish that everyone will take a moment to look at.  
**


	15. Ending

**A/N: Chapter 16 after this is a collection of other odds and ends that might allow you to understand this story and its plotline better. Please check it out! I beg of you to do so!**

**Other unimportant side notes: I got two dollars for my attempt at making my friend cry! Well, I'm still three dollars short of my original goal, but two dollars is better than nothing! XP**

**---  
**

A song bird's sweet voice trilled into the new air. It coaxed out many sleepy animals from burrows and hiding places to wake up and shake the soft dew from their fur and feathers.

Sai listened quietly to her song as he walked down the pebbled road of a courtyard. He was carrying around his usual array of ink brushes, scrolls, and bottles of ink. But also in his arms rested a large bouquet of flowers. His dark eyes were still mournful as he reached his destination.

He lowered his gaze and crouched down in front of the two graves. His look softened as he read the names that were engraved in the two tombstones for, possibly, the millionth time.

_Uchiha-Uzumaki Sasuke_ was on one and on the other one proclaimed _Uchiha-Uzumaki Naruto_.

The boy was about to set down the flowers when something caught his eye. He placed the bouquet aside gently and picked up the scroll that was right in between the two tombstones. It was a simple white scroll with a red thread tying it together.

Sai looked around to see if anyone else was in the courtyard. Maybe they had dropped it on accident? No… There wasn't anyone else besides himself. A gently wind tousled his hair as he pulled the string off with a tug. The thread fell off the scroll neatly and curled on the floor when it fell.

His eyes quickly read the neat, but childish, characters. He sat took a moment to understand the words before re-reading it.

The scroll was written in a diary entry form. Though the words were deep and insightful, the handwriting had proven that its author was not very old. There were a few mistakes here and there, but the letter, Sai supposed it was a letter, was readable.

"_Our family lives by our own rules. We learn by ourselves. We listen to none but ourselves. We follow no one's rules but our own. We are fate. We are destiny._

_We, you could suppose, are ninjas. We use our ninjutsu to control fate. Our eyes can see things others cannot. We see the red threads that tie everyone up with their true loves. Those whom are destined to be together. We decide who is to be with whom. We may change and alter them whenever we wish. But we are fate._

_We are scattered everywhere, our family. We do not reveal ourselves to others much, but hide away from everyone's eyes and conduct our duties quietly._

_My sister and I are in charge of a small hidden village which goes by the name 'Konohagakure'. We are the ones who control the fates and ties of the people who live, or lived, there._

_We were the ones who inherited several forbidden scrolls from our family. We were to guard it and protect it. But one day, my sister decided to open one of them and see what was inside._

_We discovered a forbidden jutsu that had been sealed away long ago. I was against bringing it back, but my sister was curious and insistent. Together, we 'completed' the half finished jutsu. We didn't understand why it was sealed away in the first place._

_It was the 'Aishiteru no Jutsu'. From the information we gained from the scroll, we concluded that the jutsu would create red thread, similar to our fate threads, which would grant a person the ability to shatter time and find their true love quickly. It went against fate. Against destiny. But the end results were the same. Was it not? The two lovers would eventually reach each other anyway, right? There was no harm in speeding up the process. _

_Or so we thought._

_Our first experiment was on a young boy. His name was Uzumaki Naruto. We had been following his journey across life for a long time. We watched him struggle against his red ties that held him with another boy. Uchiha Sasuke. It was unusual for us to have to tie two people of the same gender together. Especially since one of them was from such a prestigious family. But that was our job. To carry out fate._

_We thought it would help him, not hinder him, if we gave him the red thread. Surely it would bring him to his love. We activated the jutsu the day he set out to search for that boy. Further investigation on the jutsu came with disastrous results._

_We discovered why our family had sealed and forbidden that jutsu away even when it was only half completed. It brought two lovers together, yes, but they would never have a 'happy ending'. They would suffer through their ties and eventually die together._

_People would spurn them and not approve of their relationship. They would see them as 'different'. They would be treated badly, even in their last days. Their 'reward' for going against fate was to die miserably. They would never be able to say 'Aishiteru' to each other. That was the result._

_They would love each other, but they would never be able to whole heartedly confess it to each other. That was the curse that came with the jutsu. But we had not known that until it was too late. There was no way to break it._

_My sister and I watched unhappily as the two boys struggled. Their ties were wavering everyday but nothing we did could strengthen them. We knew that they would die eventually. It hurt us to see that we were the reason why they would have to suffer._

_It was because of our selfish experiment that made them suffer to the day they took in their last breath. It started as a playful test, but ended as a terrible break in destiny._

_And it is today that we must tell the story of the ties we broke. We could not apologize to them. There is no way. But no matter what, their ties have not and will not break. They are dead, yes, but they are together._

_We are fate and destiny. We can see everyone's ties. We can control, break, and form new ties. But no longer can we do such things. Our family has shunned and exiled us from them. But we can still see. We can still sense the ties. And we can still see the strong thread that holds Uchiha Sasuke with Uzumaki Naruto._

_And thus, their story of love."_

By the time Sai was done contemplating this strange letter, it was afternoon already. He smiled lightly, a true smile though, placed the flowers on top of the two graves and walked away with the scroll in his hands.

---

It was extremely dark when he was finished. Candles flickered warmly and wax dripped down the sides. Many bottles of ink were placed across the table. It was late. And he was tired. His hand ached terribly, but he did not stop. The brush kept dipping into another ink bottle, wavered over the wet scroll, and picked up again as the stroke was completed.

It was warm and breezy when he was finished. His eyes were sleepy but bright as he finally realized what he had finished. The scroll and been neatly rolled up when the ink was dried. Now he unrolled the entire length on the table and admired his work.

The sky was bright with stars and moon when he was finished. His pale complexion glowed in the light. Colors danced and swirled across the once white scroll. He was finished with the project he started so many months ago.

For many months he was unable to depict the feeling that he heard so much about. Love. It wasn't simple at all, was it? It sounded simple. One syllable. That's it.

No… It wasn't. He didn't realize that until he saw how many scrolls he had ruined because he couldn't get that feeling down on paper.

_It was only a _myth_ after all, _he had thought when he started out. Many ink bottles, hours, and days later, he realized otherwise. But now he was finally done.

"Naruto… It's such a shame that you can't see my completed work…"

It was a flurry of colors and shapes that ran and fought on the scroll. Orange and blue was especially abundant on this picture. Sai had drawn Sasuke and Naruto. In each picture there was always a red line that swirled around them. Even when they grew far apart, that thin but insistent red line followed them. A small spool spiraled around Naruto on one picture.

He had simply guessed their fate and journey across life, but surprisingly enough, he had been able to guess out many obscure facts that he never knew about. Like how Naruto obtained the spool of red thread that the two sisters gave to him. Or how Sasuke was infuriated when he woke up with red thread on his lap.

Was it fate that he knew these things? Even when no one had told him about them? Or was it just his imagination that held such things? Did it really happen at all…?

Sai touched the slightly wet surface of the paper. He rested his sore fingertips on a picture of Sasuke and smiled. During the time when he was alive, Sai was never able to truly smile at him. Simply because he didn't want to. There was always something that kept him off to one side. It didn't feel right to smile at him.

Now he regretted that he never smiled at him whole heartedly. Sasuke wasn't like Naruto or Sakura. He was different. Sai never understood what was so different about him and what made him so reluctant to smile at him.

Do you know that reason? The strange reason why Sai just could not twist his lips in that way and smile at Sasuke?

The reason is actually simple. Sai was unconsciously fearing for his life each time Sasuke looked at him. Those eyes held such jealously and envy toward him that Sai couldn't muster up a smile for the Uchiha.

Who would have known that Sasuke could be so sensitive when it came to Naruto…

Did you know, Naruto? Did you know how much jealously Sasuke had toward you…? Did you know that? Even though he never said "Aishiteru" to you?

One can only hope that you two understood your feelings for each other…

---

_Sweet, gentle laughter rang out through the misty area. It was the laughter of an innocent child's_.

_"Sasuke! Come on, hurry!" _

_"Eh, dobe, don't run so fast!" Footfalls could be heard as they echoed down the stone paved road._

_"Hahaha, Sasuke, you slowpoke!" Yellow hair bobbed into view through the thick mist. Blue-ish, black hair followed the bright one. Something red shimmered between them._

_"Wait up, baka!" A chuckle joined the laugh. It was a deeper, more serious chuckle. "The thread's pulled taut. You can't get any farther than this, Naruto!"_

_And so it was. The thread that was between them was pulled out. It wavered a bit before it began to sag. Once again, golden strands of hair blurred by as Naruto threw his arms around Sasuke's neck.  
_

_Sasuke's eyebrows shot up when he felt lips press against his own all of a sudden. Then, after a second, he hugged the boy in return and smiled through their kiss. __They embraced in their own __ethereal __world now. On each of their hands was a small bow and a red thread that tied them together.  
_

_"Ne, ne, Sasuke?" Naruto placed his head onto Sasuke's shoulder. "I love you..."_

_"I love you too..."_

**Owari**

**A/N: Okay, how many of you guys thought that this would be a signature fluffy, sappy, sweet, cute, adorable story? Raise your hands. Come on, now… Well, actually, this is rather fluffy, sappy, sweet, cute, and adorable isn't it?  
**

**How many of you, be truthful now, actually cried reading this? Sorry to say, but being the author of this story kind of made me immune to the sadness. I couldn't cry… Raise your hand for this too…**

**And how many of you want to hit me on the head and yell at me for making you all depressed? Waah! Don't hurt meeee!**

**It's a happy ending, be happy!**

**Please review for me! My hard work will die if I don't get any reviews and opinions!**

**Okay, this is done (except for the extras) so now let us continue reading Lunar Chasmodai's "Road Trip"! Onwards, minions!  
**


	16. TimelineExtras

**A/N: Hey, I'm getting a little worried since Chapter 16 is getting more hits than Chapter 15. Just a small reminder that the ending is in Chapter _15,_ okay? I find this funny...**

I'll be heartbroken and sad if no one actually bothers to read this! I did the entire math stuff out and planned out all the days accordingly… At least give me a pat on the back for being such a nerd and caring about the timeline!

Okay, here are some extra notes and the timeline for Kakashi, Yamato, Sasuke, Naruto, Sai, and Sakura's journey to get to Akatsuki in time. I realize that I wasn't very clear with their days and times, but it was an important detail for the story to fall in place correctly.

If anyone still has any questions or problems with the timelines, or just the plotline in general, feel free to PM me, okay? I won't bite. Unless you send me something like "h3yz w45sup?11//shift//!!" If you send me that, run away for your life. I'm not kidding.

Shortened version of the timelines and important dates. (Day one begins on the day when the six of them left)

**Days it took Team Kakashi to reach Akatsuki "hideout"**: Days 2-12

**Resting days between running to find "hideout" for Team Kakashi:** Days 6-9

**Days for Tsunade and Konoha to reach evacuation area:** Days 13-14

**Day that Sasuke was killed on:** Day 15

**Itachi's run to the Akatsuki cave:** Days 15-16

**Extraction days of Kyuubi:** Days 16-17

**Day Akatsuki was killed:** Day 17

**Days Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, and Sakura were trapped in a blizzard:** 18

**Day Naruto to reach Sasuke:** Day 19

**Day when Team Kakashi they began looking for Sasuke and Naruto:** Day 19

**Day when Team Kakashi they reached Sasuke and Naruto**: Day 20

**Days it took Team Kakashi to return to Konoha**: Days 21-28

**Day of the funeral**: Day 30

Extra detailed and long version of the timeline:

**Day 1**:

This was the day when Naruto had begun to send out wedding invitations. He began in the morning and stopped at night, when he was grimly informed that Akatsuki was back. All six of them left on the same exact night.

**Day 2:**

Their first day out of the eight days required to reach Akatsuki's hideout officially began on Day 2.

**Day 3: **

Their mad chase continues. They weren't able to stop for rest for a long time. It's their second day on their eight days of pursuit.

**Day 4:**

Three out of eight days.

**Day 5:**

They knew they had to rest eventually, but still had to go. Fourth day of pursuit.

**Day 6:**

On this day, they stopped to rest and get back some energy for their fight. Until night fell, this was their fifth day of pursuit. They began resting at night.

**Day 7:**

Their "three days" to rest officially starts on Day 7 at sunrise.

**Day 8:**

This is their second day of rest out of the "three days" they set for themselves.

**Day 9:**

This is the last day that they could rest. The next day they would immediately continue their pursuit.

**Day 10:**

At the sunrise of Day 10, it would be their sixth day of pursuit.

**Day 11:**

Seventh day of pursuit.

**Day 12:**

This is the day when they reached the cave where Akatsuki were hiding at.

**Day 13:**

The six of them had spent a day trying to destroy the cave and find the people hiding in it.

It was also the day Tsunade received a message from Sunagakure. On Day 13, Konoha began to evacuate.

**Day 14:**

On this day, Tsunade and Konoha village reached the evacuation area.

This was the day when Sasuke and Naruto were attacked by Itachi and Kisame. Naruto was separated from Sasuke.

Though it was not stated in the story, Day 14 is also the same day that Itachi immobilized Kakashi and Yamato. Kisame also took care of Sai and Sakura. That's why they were injured.

**Day 15:**

Sasuke and Naruto had been fighting Itachi and Kisame for an entire day already. Naruto killed Kisame on this day. Itachi had killed Sasuke on this day and ran away with Naruto to the cave where they would begin the extraction.

Day one of his running officially began on this day.

**Day 16:**

Day two of Itachi's run. He reached the extraction cave on this day. Akatsuki immediately began to extract Kyuubi.

Day one of the extraction officially starts on this day.

**Day 17**:

Kakashi sent out his nin-dogs to search for Sai, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto on this day.

Day two of the Kyuubi extraction was on this day.

That's when Naruto began to rebel against them. It took him a day to obliterate Akatsuki.

**Day 18:**

Kakashi and Yamato meet up with Sai and Sakura again. It was also the day when a freak blizzard came along and trapped them in one of Yamato's wooden houses.

On the late night of Day 18, Naruto had begun running for Sasuke.

**Day 19:**

On this day, the blizzard stopped in the afternoon. They began to look for Sasuke and Naruto on that day. When the four of them began to leave and search for Naruto, the boy was almost at Sasuke's spot. The "large disturbance" that Pakkun noted was Kyuubi's chakra that had flooded the area, causing panic everywhere.

When Naruto reached Sasuke, the freak blizzard had stopped already, but he didn't even notice it to begin with.

**Day 20:**

This day was the day when Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, and Sakura found Sasuke and Naruto's dead bodies.

**Day 21:**

On the sunrise of Day 21, the four of them began to return to Konoha.

**Day 22:**

Day two of the eight days required to return to Konoha.

**Day 23:**

Three out of eight days.

**Day 24:**

Four out of eight days.

**Day 25:**

Five out of eight days.

**Day 26:**

Six out of eight days.

**Day 27:**

Tsunade began to return to the village.

This is the seventh day out of eight days that the six of them had to travel.

**Day 28**:

Tsunade and the ANBU members are in the village of Konoha.

Team Kakashi reaches Konoha as well. They meet up when it was nearly nightfall.

**Day 29:**

The people of Konoha begin to return to the village. Funeral preparations are also underway with the few people in the village at this time.

**Day 30:**

Everyone is back in Konoha. This is the day that Sasuke and Naruto were supposed to marry, but instead it was their funeral.


End file.
